Delays to the construction of thousands of social and affordable homes due to an interdepartmental row over funding is further proof that this government is not capable of tackling the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“It has been reported today that work on up to 5,000 social and affordable homes by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) has effectively stalled because of a dispute between the Department of Housing, the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure.
“The Taoiseach has repeatedly said the government is doing all it can on housing, but this row over funding shows this is not true.
“It is utterly scandalous that affordable and social housing projects are ready to go but are being held up by government dithering and a reluctance to commit funding.
“This is disgraceful when there is a budget surplus of billions available. It shows the government’s utter incompetence when it comes to solving the housing crisis and its failure to treat it as the emergency that it is.
“We repeatedly hear the government banging on about supply measures to boost the private sector. Yet it is not doing the one thing it can do to guarantee an increase in the supply of homes – State delivery through AHBs and local authorities.
“This is yet another example of the government standing in the way of clear solutions to the housing emergency.
“It has also emerged that nearly 4,000 council homes were left vacant last year, despite the fact there are 60,000 people on local authority waiting lists across the country.
“And in a response to a parliamentary question I submitted, Housing Minister James Browne confirmed an increase in the number of derelict sites, which jumped from 1,573 to 1,913 last year – a rise of 340.
“This shows that the government has failed to get to grips with vacancy and dereliction – something that could quickly increase the supply of homes if properly enforced.
“The Minister must now explain why the government not only ignores, but actually impedes, the most immediate and obvious solutions to our worsening housing disaster.”
March 10, 2025