Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government agreed on 7 March that the ‘Winter Emergency Period’ under the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 would come to an end on 31 March 2023, with deferred tenancy terminations taking effect over a staggered period from 1 April to 18 June 2023 as planned and legislated for under that Act.

The Government at that time considered that extending the emergency period would be detrimental to medium and long-term supply of private rental accommodation. That position has not changed. My Department and local authorities are instead focusing on implementing the additional measures which I announced last March to increase the supply of social homes. These include:

• an increase in the number of social housing acquisitions to 1,500 in 2023 to reduce the number of households at risk of homelessness;
• an additional 1,000 homes through Targeted Leasing initiatives in 2023 and 2024;
• amending the Capital Advance Leasing Facility used by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to assist them in their efforts in delivering social homes; and
• developing a Cost Rental Tenant in Situ scheme for tenants at risk of homelessness but not on social housing supports to continue to rent their home.

I also informed Government of plans to give a number of new opportunities to tenants who wish to become homeowners, giving tenants the opportunity to buy their homes, by requiring a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant. I expect that the necessary Bill will be published during this Oireachtas session.

Ultimately increasing housing supply across all tenures is the key to preventing homelessness. Housing for All is successfully supporting a significantly increased supply of new homes, with almost 30,000 built in 2022, an increase of 45% on 2021 and 5,250 homes or 21% higher than the Housing for All target of 24,600. Furthermore, more than 22,400 homes have been built to end-September 2023, with the Housing for All targets or of 29,000 and 33,450 expected to be met, if not exceeded, in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The pipeline is positive and supply is increasing.

In the first eighteen months of the new programme, over 3,000 affordable homes have been delivered to date, supported by the Affordable Housing Fund, the Cost Rental Equity Loan, Project Tosaigh and the First Home Scheme. This momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by our delivery partners. In the past month alone, I approved funding of €448m for over 1,900 affordable homes in 8 local authority areas. This is in addition to the strong pipeline of over 22,600 social homes either on site or at various stages of design and procurement.

Under Housing for All the Government is committed to increase supply and protect renters while trying to keep small landlords in the system. My Department is currently undertaking a review of the Private Rental Sector which will inform Government on the measures which need to be taken to ensure a well-functioning private rental sector in Ireland that works for all.