Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has said that ‘today’s housing progress report published by the Taoiseach, Leader of the Green Party and Minister for Housing had little progress to report.’

Deputy Ó Broin accused Minister O’Brien of ‘refusing to publish updates on social and affordable housing delivery, private home purchase schemes and the public housing capital spend to date.’

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Each quarter Darragh O’Brien publishes a so-called ‘progress’ report on his housing plan. However, each quarter key information is missing from the report. This information relates to public housing delivery and schemes for private home purchase.

“In order for the public to be able to assess whether the Government is making any progress on tackling the housing crisis, Darragh O’Brien must answer 7 questions relating to these key schemes..

“Today’s report did not include updates on:

• How many of the 9,100 new build social homes have been delivered by the end of Q3 2023?
• How many of the promised 3,500 affordable homes from Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and the LDA have been delivered by the end of Q3 2023?
• How many of the 2,000 First Home scheme home purchases have actually been purchased with the loans drawn down by buyers by the end of Q3 2023?
• How many Croí Cónaithe Towns Refurbishment Grants have been drawn down by the end of Q3 2023?
• How many Local Authority Home Loans have been drawn down by the end of Q3 2023?
• How much of the €4bn capital funding allocated for social and affordable housing by Government, AHB borrowing, and the Land Development Agency has been spent by the end of Q3 2023?
• What additional measures does Government intend to put in place in the coming months to stop homelessness continuing to rise through the winter?

“It is also concerning that of the 32 key actions which the Department of Housing is responsible for listed in Appendix 1 of the report, 15 have been delayed.

“These include key projects including the review of the private rental sector, secondary legislation arising from the still delayed Planning Bill, legislation to allow the Housing Finance Agency increase its overall borrowing limit, development of the failing cost rental tenant-in-situ programme, the development of the demonstration park for modern methods of construction, publication of the long awaited rural planning guidelines, report on the reform of An Bord Pleanála and the response to the report from the Housing Commission.

“The reason why Darragh O’Brien remains silent on the social and affordable housing programmes’ delivery this year is because they are all once again behind target. That is why house prices and rents continue to rise. That is why homelessness continues to rise. That is why so many young people with jobs and education are being forced to emigrate.

“Fianna Fail and Fine Gael created this housing crisis. The longer they remain in Government the worse it will get. The absence of any hard detail in today’s report on key Government schemes is evidence of that.”