Nama hands over just 518 of 5,000 units earmarked for social housing

Just 518 of the estimated 5,000 units identified by Nama as being suitable for social housing have been handed over to local authorities, despite a reported 90,000 applicants on council waiting lists.

The Department of the Environment confirmed by the end of March Nama had identified 4,653 units as “potentially suitable” for social housing.

The department said of that total, 1,849 units had been confirmed by local authorities as suitable.

“Completed housing unit transfers stand at 518, with a further 166 units contracted and with completion work ongoing,” said Environment Minister Phil Hogan in response to a query from Fianna Fáil’s environment spokesman Barry Cowen.

“This brings the overall total delivery of social housing from Nama-sourced units to 684 units (completed or contracted) since the process began.”

The low handover of Nama units is in spite of the fact negotiations between the State and the agency on taking on units began as far back 2011. The Government set a target of 4,000 Nama properties to be used as housing.

Different local authorities have had widely differing take-up levels of the units.

For example, in Galway City Council, all 152 units put forward by Nama were adjudged to be suitable and 60 have already either been completed or contracted.

However, in Cork City, where 419 properties were considered suitable for social housing by Nama, just 97 units, or less than a quarter, have been adjudged suitable by the city council and only 53 are either being completed or contracted.

That is despite the fact a meeting of the council’s housing subcommittee earlier this month was told there was a social housing waiting list of more than 8,000.

Nama has said the pace at which properties are accepted by the various housing bodies and local authorities is not within its control.

“The provision of housing across incomplete developments is inherently complex and requires time to resolve the various legislative, planning and compliance issues that arise,” it said in its latest end-of-year review.