The Strategy commits to:

• supplying 35,000 additional social housing units at a cost of €3.8 billion over the next 6 years;
• Estimated 29,000 Jobs in construction and promotion of mixed-tenure developments;
• meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through local authority provision via the private rented sector - using Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme;
• reforming social housing delivery and management in Ireland;
• establishing the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Taskforce,  to respond to the current supply difficulties and focus on the delivery of social housing in the Dublin area, and
• sets out road map to accommodate everyone on the Housing Waiting Lists by 2020 (90,000 households).

The Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly T.D. together with his colleague Paudie Coffey T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government today (26 November, 2014) launched the ‘Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and Reform’, a Government commitment under Construction 2020.

At the launch, Minister Kelly said “This six-year Social Housing Strategy sets out to fully meet this Government’s ambitious goals. In committing to provide 35,000 new social housing units at a cost of €3.8 bn, it makes a fresh start for social housing in Ireland. One of the  main priorities for this Government is to address the challenge of providing social housing for the people of this country This Strategy sets out how we will achieve this priority.   The Strategy restores the State to a central role in the provision of social housing through a resumption of direct building on a significant scale by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies. It emphasises the State’s lead role in building partnerships with other public, voluntary and private providers of housing in the development of innovative funding mechanisms that do not increase the General Government Debt. “

The Minister explained that the Social Housing Strategy will provide for a more economic, sustainable, progressive and integrated approach to social housing delivery in Ireland.  The Strategy provides the basis for an enhanced approach to social housing provision and contains clear actions to be taken to increase supply and most importantly, reduce the number of people on waiting lists. The measures in the Strategy build on and complement Budget 2015, which provided for a multi-annual approach to the provision of social housing with a considerable increase in Exchequer investment and proposals for innovative funding approaches to increase supply.

Minister of State Coffey said “The Strategy builds on work initiated under Construction 2020. It will underpin a more financially sustainable and integrated Social Housing Sector which is more responsive to people’s need. It will also assist in the recovery of a strong and sustainable construction sector”.

The published strategy (PDF) is available below.