Department finds 'positive indicators' of increasing housing supply, committee to hear

Graham Doyle will on Thursday tell the Public Accounts Committee that in 2023 the number of new homes delivered was up 10% on that delivered in 2022. File picture

The head of the department of housing says that “positive indicators” have emerged in terms of increasing housing supply, but that “major challenges” remain.

The department’s secretary general Graham Doyle will on Thursday tell the Public Accounts Committee that in 2023 the number of new homes delivered was up 10% on that delivered in 2022, exceeding the Government’s overarching Housing For All plan by nearly 13%, with 32,695 properties completed over the 12 months.

He will add that 41,224 planning permissions were granted for new homes in 2023.

However, he will also acknowledge the ongoing issues with delivering adequate supply for Ireland’s population.

“At a broader level we continue to see major challenges around increased demand, increased costs and complex issues around unlocking supply at the pace and scale required. 

"This will remain an area of acute focus for the Department,” Mr Doyle is expected to say.

Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy is expected to tell the committee his agency has established that the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive provided a number of funding advances to the Peter McVerry trust between March and September 2023 without the Government’s approval.

After it emerged that there were serious issues with the financial fundamentals of the trust in 2023, the Government was forced to bail the charity out to the tune of €15m.

Mr McCarthy will also tell the committee that while €2m in normal funding provided to the trust was approved by the department at the same time, €5.3m was provided by the executive with none of the advances approved.

The trust will not be present at the hearing, having declined an invitation to attend the PAC for a second time citing the investigations into its finances which are still in train.