The Government must now explain why the State cannot – or will not – build enough social homes
The Taoiseach has finally admitted that the Government’s own target for the delivery of social homes in 2022 was missed, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.
Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s Housing spokesperson, said:
“When questioned in the Dáil today by my colleague Catherine Murphy TD, the Taoiseach conceded, for the first time, that the target for social housing had not been met last year. This admission is a departure from the usual Government spin on housing delivery figures.
“It is important to remember that the initial target for new-build social homes in 2022 was 9,000, but this was quietly reduced to 8,000 in November. By September, just over 2,700 social homes had been delivered, with more than 70% of them acquired from the private sector.
“Last December, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform warned that only 6,500 social homes were likely to be delivered by the end of the year. This falls short of the original target set by the Government by as much as 30%.
“The shortfall in the delivery of social homes is not surprising when you consider that, according to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Housing Minster failed to spend almost €1 billion of his capital allocation last year. This is a grave insult to the record numbers of people living in emergency homeless accommodation and the tens of thousands of renters struggling to pay unaffordable rents.
“Following the Taoiseach’s admission of his Government’s spectacular housing policy failure, he now needs to explain why the State cannot – or will not – build enough social homes and outline what immediate action he is going to take to address this.”
January 25, 2023