'How is it possible to build more homes with less money?': Sinn Féin accuses Government of underfunding social housing
Sinn Féin spokesman on housing Eoin Ó Broin said the €436m, when added to the €2.3bn allocated to social and affordable housing last December, falls €104m short of the amount eventually spent by the Department on social housing in 2024. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins
The Government has been accused of underfunding the provision of social housing after more than €400m in additional monies was announced for the sector by the minister for housing.
The department of housing on Monday announced it is to provide €436m in extra funding for new and second-hand social housing in 2025.
That figure comprises an additional €111m for more than 1,300 new-build social homes, and a further €325m for the acquisition of second-hand properties, the Department said.
Housing minister James Browne said the €111m is to be allocated for 82 new social housing projects.
The remaining €325m is to be spent on a number of streams for providing second-hand housing, including the existing tenant-in-situ scheme, housing older people and those with a disability, exits from homeless services, and acquisitions for tackling existing vacancies.
However, Sinn Féin said the supplementary allocation means the Government is currently planning to spend less on social housing than it did for the entirety of 2024, with housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin querying “how is it possible to build more homes with less money?”
Mr O Broin said the €436m, when added to the €2.3bn allocated to social and affordable housing last December, falls €104m short of the amount eventually spent by the Department on social housing in 2024.
“How does the Government expect to deliver more social and affordable homes in 2025 with less money and at a time of construction sector inflation. This is simply not possible." He added that Mr Browne “needs to come clean” about the delivery targets for 2025.
However, the minister said the Sinn Féin TD is “comparing out-turn with allocations, which is fundamentally misleading”.
He said that the final spend on housing in 2024 had been €3.6bn, and that while the capital allocation for 2025 is €3.1bn, “an additional €715m has already been provided in 2025 giving a total of €3.8bn”.
“As it currently stands allocated funds are approximately €200m greater this year than the entire spend for 2024, €3.6bn compared to €3.8bn,” the minister said, adding that the Government “will continue to invest to build robust pipelines for social and affordable homes”.
The provision of housing has become the focal point for attacks on the Government since last November’s election, with opposition TDs claiming that the electorate had been misled when it emerged that the expected housing completion target of 40,000 was missed by a distance in 2024.
Last Friday, meanwhile, the number of homeless people in Ireland rose to a new record high of 15,378, with the true figure of homelessness thought to be much higher as the monthly figures do not account for people sleeping rough or couch surfing or those accessing accommodation in domestic violence shelters.
In critiquing Monday's Government announcement, Mr Ó Broin further called on the Minister to publish a circular issued to local authorities regarding the tenant in situ scheme which allegedly sets out restrictions regarding how that scheme, which works to keep tenants in their homes when the landlord opts to sell the house, is operated.
He cited the “widespread concern” which has recently been expressed by homeless charities that the move to amend the scheme would see “less funding and more restrictive criteria for this important scheme”.
