The Irish government is on track to deliver more social and affordable housing this year than in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The housing delivery figures for the first half of 2023 show that 2,298 social homes were delivered in H1 through build, acquisition and leasing and 1,290 affordable homes were delivered in H1 including Cost Rental and Affordable Purchase homes via Approved Housing Bodies, Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through the First Home Scheme. Including HAP and RAS, 7,234 social housing solutions were delivered in H1 2023.

There is a strong pipeline of over 22,600 social homes either on site or at various stages of design and procurement, according to the report.

Traditionally, the delivery of social housing by local authorities builds throughout the year and a significant part of the delivery is delivered in Q4. This was the case last year when 10,263 social homes were delivered (11.9% increase on 2021 figures) - the highest annual output of social homes in decades and the highest level of delivery of new-build housing since 1975. The current pipeline identified indicates that last year's record will be exceeded this year.

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Recent interventions such as the Tenant in Situ initiative are also making a significant impact in providing secure long-term social and affordable tenancies. For 2023 the Department increased the social housing acquisition target from an initial 200 to at least 1,500 and the latest information provided by local authorities which will be validated and verified by the Department shows there are 800 tenant in situ sales concluded with another 1,300 in progress.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien, has emphasised that the level of social and affordable housing will continue to grow and that, as was evident in recent years delivery across all streams is typically weighted towards the year-end.

Commenting he said: "Last year we delivered the highest amount of social homes in decades and record delivery of new-build social housing since the mid-1970s. Based on the projections and data available, I am very confident that this year we will exceed last year's performance and post another impressive level of delivery.

"This delivery will mirror the strong overall growth in the overall housing sector where over 14,000 homes were completed between January and June - the highest for this period since records began. In fact, figures published just yesterday show that more than 21,300 new homes have commenced construction in the first eight months of this year, up 14% on the same period last year.

"We are making significant progress on all fronts and I believe we will see a significant increase in social housing throughout the second half of the year – reflecting this Governments commitment to ensure that there is indeed housing for all."