TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has acknowledged that the Government missed their social housing targets for 2022.
Speaking in the Dáil earlier, Varadkar said that only 6,500 social homes were provided in 2022, which was below the revised target of 8,000.
“We did miss the social housing target last year, 6,500 new social homes were provided,” said Varadkar, following questioning by co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy.
Last week it was reported that the Government had missed their 2022 social housing targets, according to a ministerial briefing document from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).
However, a spokesperson for the Housing Minister said that preliminary figures on social housing delivery will be “considerably higher” than figures released by DPER.
Varadkar said that Murphy did not acknowledge that the number of social homes built in 2022 were the highest provided “in a very long time”.
However, The Journal yesterday examined claims that more housing had been built last year than ever before and found that the claim was unproven.
He added that the housing crisis remained the biggest social issue facing the Government.
“It [the housing crisis] affects people in so many different ways and is holding us back as a country and holding us back as an economy and a society as well in my view,” said Varadkar.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis was also raised during Leaders’ Questions this afternoon, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald calling on the Government to ensure that there was no “cliff-edge” to supports.
Varadkar confirmed that while there would be no cliff edge for supports, he said that it would not be possible for the Government to retain all of the measures they had introduced.
Currently, some specific cost-of-living supports are due to expire at the end of February.
“We’re not going to be able to continue everything, we just don’t have the resources to do so but there isn’t going to be a cliff edge,” Varadkar said.
In response, Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar says there won't be a "cliff edge" for supports when they are due to run out in February and that some will continue
— Tadgh McNally (@TadghMcN) January 25, 2023
He adds that not all supports will be renewed, saying that "we just don't have the resources to do so" pic.twitter.com/4zcEndIcgS
“What will happen over the course of the next few weeks is the relevant ministers will sit down with the Minister for Public Expenditure and the Minister for Finance and we’ll work out which measures we can continue and which ones we can’t.
“We will try and do that as quickly as possible in the next couple of weeks so that people have certainty long before the end of February.”
McDonald also called for the Government to examine introducing “targeted, tailored and time-bound” mortgage relief.
While Varadkar did not address mortgage relief, he confirmed that the rent credit introduced in Budget 2023 would be made permanent.
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