Housing crisis: Dire warnings as ministers told Housing For All plan is falling short of key targets

Plan for constructing social and affordable housing is ‘not currently on track’

Sources were taken aback by the lack of action on some measures pledged by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.

 

September 23 2022 02:30 AM

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Cabinet ministers have been warned the Government’s landmark plan to address the housing crisis is missing key targets and will not deliver the number of properties needed to address the long-running property supply problem.

A private meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Housing was told the Housing For All policy needs to be urgently revised and additional budget funding for the €4bn plan may also be required if it is to meet its objectives.

A series of dire warnings about the State’s housing policy were set out in series of memos given to ministers who attended the monthly meeting last week.

This included officials saying it is clear that the viability of the Government’s housing targets for the forthcoming two years is at “considerable risk”.

They were told the objective of delivering 24,600 homes this year is on target.

However, the plan will fall short in delivering the number of new social housing units they aimed to have constructed by the end of the year.

And in further bad news, ministers were told the targets set for developing new affordable homes will “fall significantly short of target for the year”.

The Government’s plan for constructing social and affordable housing is “not currently on track,” senior Cabinet figures were told.

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Key Housing For All objectives – such as developing a national policy on incentivising older people to downsize – have been delayed.

Deadlines to develop a healthcare model for homeless people have also been missed as have targets to empower local authorities to incentivise people planning to convert vacant commercial properties into residential homes. There has been a delay in developing official guidance on achieving appropriate tenure mixes within communities, including rules on how to engage with local people ahead of developing new housing.

A review of the Housing For All strategy should include “discrete timelines” for a number of measures that have yet to be introduced, the Cabinet Committee was told.

The delay in providing housing is partly due to the rising cost of construction and issues sourcing materials for building new homes, according to sources who attended the meeting.