The number of social and affordable houses built last year fell despite a record overall output of new homes, latest figures show.
While almost 77,000 housing units were completed last year, an increase of almost 12 per cent, the number of social and affordable units fell from 13,600 in 2003 to 12,145 in 2004.
Just 374 affordable houses were delivered under part V of the Planning Act, aimed at increasing the number of social and affordable houses in newly-built private housing estates. Just 30 units were delivered as part of the 10,000 units promised under the Sustaining Progress partnership agreement.
The remainder of social and affordable housing was delivered through local authorities, older affordable housing schemes and voluntary and co-operatives bodies, according to the Department of Environment's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletin 2004.
Figures show many developers are transferring land, serviced sites or making financial contributions to local authorities in lieu of building houses in their own developments. The department insists these part V provisions are gathering momentum and estimates over 1,600 units will be provided under the scheme in 2005.
The Minister with responsibility for housing, Noel Ahern, said each local authority has produced five-year action plans to ensure there would be a co-ordinated response across all services to meet housing needs.
However, the Labour Party's environment spokesman, Eamon Gilmore TD, attacked the Government's record on social and affordable housing. He claimed figures showed that twice as many holiday homes were being built as council houses.
Last year was the 10th year in a row of record house completions. Ireland is now building at the fastest rate in Europe - over 19 units per 1,000 of the population compared with around 3.5 units per 1,000 in the UK. Land-availability studies suggest there is enough serviced land to meet current rates of residential development for the next five years.
Despite the growth in housing supply, average house prices rose by 11 per cent for new and second-hand homes.
There are also signs that the cost of servicing a mortgage is becoming more affordable due to low interest rates, high employment and fiscal policies, the report says. The average cost of servicing a mortgage is now 25 per cent of the disposable income of an average two-income household, lower than the 29 per cent experienced in the early 1990s.
Comparisons of the numbers of new private house completions with new housing loans paid out suggest that over 60 per cent were funded by a mortgage.