Funding Allocated For New Social Housing

The government have allocated some €100m in funding for the building of 808 new social houses over the next two years.

The houses will be the last built under the current government and will largely be used to house the homeless, elderly and people with disabilities.

Approximately 100,000 households are currently on the housing waiting list, an increase of almost 80 per cent in the last four years. Few of these people will end up in new council houses.

Instead they will be accommodated in rented housing, either directly from landlords or through long-term leasing of private housing by local authorities.

Despite the large number of empty houses, Minister of State for Housing Jan O’Sullivan said there remained a need for some newly constructed social housing, particularly for the more vulnerable people on the housing list.

“Everyone knows that government finances are very restricted. As housing minister I am determined that the much-reduced capital budget available is targeted at those most in need,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

Almost two-thirds of the money, €65 million, will go directly to local authorities for the purchase of an estimated 246 houses and the construction of a further 185 houses.

(H)