Local authorities set to significantly miss targets for spending on building social houses

Local authorities are set to significantly miss their targets for spending on building social houses, despite the country’s escalating housing crisis.

The Irish Examiner has learned that because of “problems between the Department of the Environment and local authorities”, a large proportion of the €451m capital budget for building social housing this year will not be spent.

However, it has also emerged that a “significant majority” of the €1.7bn set aside last year for the period 2015-2017 by then minister Alan Kelly to build social housing has not yet been spent by local authorities.