Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has commented on the publication of the social housing output figures for Quarter Two of 2021.

The figures show that the Government has only reached 29% of its overall build, lease, and acquisition output target for 2021 to date.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“The delivery of social housing has been badly impacted by the shutdown of construction due to the public health restrictions and overly bureaucratic procurement rules.

“Figures published indicate that for the first six months of 2021, the government had only reached 29% of its overall build, lease and acquisition delivery target of 12,750 homes for 2021.

“By contrast, the figures also indicate that the Government has hit 51% of its subsidised private rental targets, with RAS and HAP output at 8,110.

“In terms of social housing build targets, in the first six months of 2021, 2,433 new homes were built. This is just 29% of the overall target of 9,500 for 2021.

“The Government’s acquisition delivery is at 40% of the overall target of 800 for 2021, and its long-term leasing target is at 36% of its target of 2,450.

“The primary cause for the delays in delivery are the public health restrictions. What we need to hear from the Minister is how the Government will catch up now that reopening is well under way.

“The red tape surrounding the public spending code and its impact on procurement also needs to be tackled.

“We need to ensure that the delays in delivery for the first six months of this year are mitigated so they do not continue to impact social housing output going in to 2022.”

CRÍOCH/ENDS

Click here to view spreadsheet of delivery targets and output.