To ask the Minister for Communities what action is being taken to ensure there is adequate local housing provision in areas with high numbers of second homes.

I am committed to addressing housing stress and increasing the supply of social housing in those areas of greatest need. My efforts are based on the Housing Executive’s cross-tenure assessments of housing need which per area factor in all relevant characteristics of the local housing economy.

My Department’s Social Housing Development Programme is a three year rolling programme of planned social housing schemes based on the identification and analysis of social housing need by geographical area. A major part of the housing programme announced on 3 November, 2020 was my intention to introduce the ring-fencing of part of the Development Programme’s budget so as to improve its targeting of need.

Other actions to ensure that social housing is prioritised in areas of greatest need are also being considered, including fully utilising available public land for housing development. I also want to protect this new supply and the existing stock of social homes. To this end, I am currently seeking Executive approval to carry out a consultation on the Housing Executive House Sales Scheme in the very near future.

In parallel, I am also progressing work to increase the range of other housing options. This includes the provision of Financial Transactions Capital funding for shared ownership and progressing research to explore the potential for a new intermediate rent product.

Finally, my programme of work also encompasses the development of a Housing Supply Strategy that seeks to identify and address those whole system issues which impact on supply across all tenures. The first formal stage in the development of this Strategy was my launch of a Call for Evidence on 19 May.