€240 million council housing programme for Dublin city

Funding for the construction of council housing in Dublin city is to more than doubled next year, with €240 million to be spent over the next three years.

Dublin City Council, the State's largest housing provider, last May announced a spending programme of just over €45 million for local authority housing construction projects in 2015.

However, the council’s three-year capital programme up to the end of 2017, to be published next week, sees that figure increase by €63 million to €108 million next year. The construction programme is being front-loaded with €78 million earmarked for 2016 and €54 million for 2017.

The council’s capital budget comes ahead of the Government’s social housing strategy which is due to be published within weeks.

The €240 million will provide 551 homes for the 20,000 applicants on the city’s social housing waiting list.

Most of the new units, some 330, will be provided through regeneration or refurbishment. The purchase of houses and apartments will provide 170 homes, with just 51 units being built from scratch by the council during the period.

Exchequer grants

Most of the funding will come from the Government, with €160 million due in exchequer grants over the three years.

However, the council said it was still waiting for confirmation from the Department of the Environment of €25 million for social housing provision.

The council will provide €9 million from its own resources, with the remaining income listed as “miscellaneous”.

More than €45 million will be spent on regeneration projects that were previously due to be developed through public-private partnership deals with developers.

These include St Teresa’s Gardens, Charlemont Estate and Dolphin House on the south side of the city, and Croke Villas and Dominick Street on the north side.

Buying houses and apartments will cost the council €14 million. Of this €5.7 million will be spent buying units from developers under the “Part V” process at just one development at Castleforbes Road in the north docklands.

Building new houses, which includes the expected €25 million for social housing, will run to about €35 million over the three years. Returning empty social housing to use will cost €27 million over the period.

Separate to its own social housing programme, the council’s capital budget sets aside €55 million for funding of social housing by approved housing bodies, more than €51 million of which is funded directly by Government grants.

The council is also planning to spend €12 million on Traveller accommodation, also separate from its local general council housing construction budget. Of this, €4 million will be spent next year, €2.8 million in 2016 and €5 million in 2017.

Almost all of this funding will come directly from Government grants.