In our social housing update published last May, we broke down the delivery of the 5,771 social housing delivered in 2019. At that stage it was clear that the majority of new housing stock for public use is still being delivered through Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), most often in conjunction with local authorities, and privately through Part V as social and affordable housing.

Last month, as the country prepared to enter into a second lockdown due to the coronavirus, Olivia Kelly, writing in The Irish Times, reported ‘Social Housing Construction Plummets’. That article, quoting figures from the Department of Housing, stated that “less than 10 percent of the 2020 target was built in first half of the year”.

According to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, only 725 out of the annual target of 7,736 social homes were built in the first six months of the year. This has been attributed, in part, to the first period of lockdown restrictions from March to May 2020, which closed down all non-essential construction activities. Speaking recently at the Irish Council for Social Housing Finance & Development Conference, the Minister said that he remained committed – despite the “challenging” start to the year –  to ensuring that the social housing targets will be met and he is hopeful that the sector has the skill set it needs to recover. At the same conference, Donal McManus, Chief Executive of the Irish Council for Social Housing, spoke of the growing awareness around social housing, calling for it to be deemed as an essential rather than welfare service. He went on to explain that “There is no better way to protect Irish society and the economy at this time, than with substantial investment in social and affordable housing”. The oft-heard criticism of the State’s reliance on private sector delivery through Part V was repeated. The Sunday Times has also published articles over the past week documenting the lack of social housing, pointing to Dublin City Council figures from 2019, which show that the council built only 90 social homes. This falls short of their aim to build 302 homes and is significantly below the 2018 figure of 264 homes. While the 2020 figures are not yet available, it has been widely suggested that targets for this year will also be missed.

The chaos caused by Covid-19 does not in any way diminish the critical need for social housing if anything, this need is escalating. While many commentators see State delivery as the optimum solution, it is clear that the State does not have the capacity to do this right now. For the foreseeable future, there is likely to be a continuing reliance on AHBs and the private sector (often working together) to bridge this housing gap. Our team at Castlehaven Finance continues to deliver in this sector, despite the impact of the pandemic, with social housing projects in Dublin, Galway and Wicklow currently being supported.