Vol. 1049 No. 6
66. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in Carlow from 2020 to 2023; his expectations for same in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6667/24]
84. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in each of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary from 2020 to 2023; his expectations for same in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6671/24]
86. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in the Dublin City Council area from 2020 to 2023; his expectations for same in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6673/24]
96. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant homes returned in Cork city under the voids return scheme in 2023; and the number to be returned in 2024. [6900/24]
109. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in Longford from 2020 to 2023; his expectations for same in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6669/24]
122. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in each of south County Dublin and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown from 2020 to 2023; his expectations for same in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6675/24]
It shows the commitment of the Government that the three Ministers are in front of us this morning to answer all our questions. That is important because sometimes we come in for questions and find it hard to get the Ministers we want to address. I welcome the Ministers.
My question, as always, is on Carlow - as if the Ministers did not know when they saw me. I am looking to know the number of vacant social homes returned to active use in Carlow from 2020 to 2023 and the expectations for same for 2024.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 84, 86, 96, 109 and 122 together, and obviously Carlow is top of the list.
The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's voids programme to supplement the local authority funding available for the preparation of vacant properties for re-letting. The funding was introduced to tackle long-term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.
The number of homes returned to active use utilising funding from my Department's voids programme between 2020 and 2023 by the local authorities referenced in the Deputies' questions is as follows. In Carlow,144 units were returned and the funding allocation was €2.4 million. The equivalent figures for Clare, Cork city, Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Limerick, Longford, South Dublin County Council and Tipperary were 264 units and €5.371 million; 644 units and €10.09 million; 1,837 units and €31.2 million; 250 units and €3.829 million; 353 units and €6.858 million; 195 units and €5.087 million; 663 units and €8.712 million; and 472 units and €8.19 million, respectively.
Budget 2024 has provided €31 million to the overall programme this year and funding allocations under planned maintenance-voids will be announced in due course. Notwithstanding the voids funding being provided by our Department, local authorities have a responsibility to provide adequate housing maintenance budgets for 2024 and this parallel work by local authorities is essential for the development of the planned maintenance approach, which is a key objective of Housing for All.
To that end, our Department and local authorities are continuing to transition from a largely responsive and voids-based approach to housing stock management and maintenance, to a planned maintenance approach as referenced in Housing for All policy objective 20.6. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response. The objective is to basically have the maximum number of housing units in use at all times, in respect of local authorities.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the 144 between 2020 and 2023. This year in Carlow, 33 properties got the funding and that is really important to us. The €50,000 grant for a vacant property has played a huge part in this. It is really good and been really positive for us, as has the €70,000 which is being given to derelict properties. There have been huge game-changers. All these grants and all these properties that are now being done up are so important and I welcome it.
On Barrack Street in Carlow, houses are going to be built under the URDF. The fund is for inner town centres. These are vacant properties and are going to be social housing but I cannot get a timescale on it. Is there any way the Minister of State could come back to me with a timescale on that because of the number of people who are ringing the office, which highlights that it is so important? This is a good scheme. Talking to couples coming in or people who are looking for properties, it has been really welcome.
Deputy McAuliffe is in this grouping as well as Deputy Haughey.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the Minister of State's clarification of the statistics on the funding. Dublin City Council has been investing in its housing stock for some time and reducing the voids. I think the council has some of the lowest void levels in the country. That is because it made the decision that was not just going to rely on central government funding and we were going to invest - I say "we" like I think I am still on the local authority - in its own stock as well. With some local authorities, there is a bit of inertia as they want all the money from central government but we must remember a housing authority is a housing authority, meaning it should manage its own housing stock.
I do not agree with the people who say we are sometimes over-speccing when we are doing a void because the local authority will often not go back into that home for 40, 50 or 60 years and if we are going to make the changes we need on climate action and living standards, I am certainly happy people are not living in the living standards they were living in 40, 50 or 60 years ago and I hope the people in 40 or 50 years will have the benefit of the investment we are putting in now.
I thank Deputies Murnane O'Connor and McAuliffe. We will certainly take up that question about the URDF funding on Barrack Street. We very much want to see the centres of places like Carlow coming back into use for people to live in.
By way of being of assistance to the Deputies, we can look at 2023 itself and getting to that plan-led maintenance approach. Taking Carlow, Deputy Murnane O'Connor is correct that 33 units were brought back into use. The overall allocation there was €732,000. That was a large additional allocation. Initially it was €430,000 and then there was an additional €300,000, which is a significant upturn. That is an average cost of €22,000 per unit. If we look at Dublin city, there was an overall allocation of €11.3 million. The initial allocation was €5.76 and that was doubled. Some 499 units came back into use at roughly the same cost per unit of €22,000. I will go through the other areas we are dealing with here. Clare has 54 units that got a total of approximately €10.5 million. Cork city has 130 units that got an allocation of €2.56 million. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown got €937,000 and brought 71 units back into use at a cost of €13,000 per unit. Limerick has 73 units coming back in for roughly €2 million. Longford has 54 units at a cost of €1.958 million with a very high per unit cost of about €36,000 per unit. South Dublin has 153 units with an allocation of €2.5 million at approximately €16,000 per unit. Tipperary has 100 units for a €2.428 million allocation at a cost of approximately €24,000 per unit. The average was€18,000 per unit. We want stock coming back into use. We accept the point about high value. We want to get to a place where voids are coming back into use as quickly as possible.
There are now three speakers, beginning with An Teachta Murnane O'Connor.
I again thank the Minister of State. I welcome this because I see all the good work that is being done in Carlow daily.
I want to raise HAP. Previous speakers raised homelessness and just since January we have had 45 cases of homelessness in Carlow. The HAP rates are being reviewed at the moment, which I welcome, and seemingly we will have a decision on the changes to them in April. That is what the Department is telling me. I am meeting with Carlow County Council and if someone is homeless, it only has a 30% discretion to try to get them into HAP accommodation. If we could get to 50%, which some counties have, it would make a huge change. We have seven properties in Carlow at the moment and they are all averaging €1,400.
I am moving slightly away but we are now university town. We are delighted to be but student accommodation is the huge issue. Is there some development charges relief with such accommodation like we see with housing and Irish Water?
I thank the Minister of State for the clarification and as I said, I congratulate Dublin City Council on the way it is approaching it. The issue in my constituency is not necessarily that of voids but of delivery. On the last count, 3,047 homes in my constituency are being built under Housing for All. All are public homes on public land. These are projects the Opposition not only voted against the budgets for but also the Bills that enabled them and, in some cases, they voted against the proposals when they came before the councils. There are 3,000 homes all at different phases of delivery and I ask the Minister of State to do everything he can to ensure the local authorities and the LDA work on each and every one of those to ensure they are delivered. I do not have time to go through all the sites but we have 15, 16, 17 housing sites all on public land being delivered in our constituency. "Delivery" is now the key word. We have the momentum behind it but I ask him to do everything he can to ensure we get those homes built and we get people into them.
I am giving An Teachta Gould a little bit of flexibility because he did not get in the first time.
That is very kind.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. The Minister of State mentioned voids and casual lets, but the whole system the Government has does not work. We are looking to have it be open-ended so when a house becomes vacant the council can do it up and apply for the money immediately-----
They can.
-----rather than sending a list of all the houses to the Department and waiting for the decision to come back. The Minister is shaking his head but I know what I am talking about. Last weekend, I was in Mayfield and on one estate there were six boarded-up houses. I contacted the council on Monday morning to say what a disgrace it was. It is not just in Mayfield, but in The Glen, Knocknaheeny and Farranree. Throughout Cork city, council houses are boarded-up while there are 10,000 people looking for houses to get off the social housing list. The Government is leaving houses boarded-up.
I ask two things of the Minister and Ministers of State to sort this out. The first is that they let the councils do the work by paying them the money to do it because the Government has it capped and closed. It does not make sense. We have boarded-up houses. This has been happening for years. My last point is that houses come back to local authorities for a number of reasons, such as people dying, people moving and people buying houses. Cork City Council has 200 every year. The first thing the Government should do is give the council money for that 200 and then give it the rest of the money. In Cork right now, more than 400 houses are boarded up-----
That is the end of the flexibility.
-----on this Minister's watch.
The Minister of State gave the Cork city figure. The Deputy was late coming in to get that-----
We will try to do this through the Chair, will we?
-----but we might give that to him again.
Taking the Deputies in order, as Deputy Murnane O'Connor is probably aware, we increased the HAP rates in the last period. There is 30% discretion and we keep it under constant review. An area to point to is the tenant in situ scheme. We want people coming off HAP and on to tenant in situ. We set a target of 1,500 last year.
We have exceeded that target to reach 1,700. As regards the scheme, we want local authorities to purchase homes for people who are on HAP and where the landlord intends to sell the home. We are very keen on that and that any local authority be encouraged to continue to purchase homes under the tenant in situ scheme.
To respond to Deputy McAuliffe, we keep in constant contact with Dublin City Council, the LDA and whoever else is involved to progress those projects.
To respond to Deputy Gould, as regards Cork city, 130 voids were returned in 2023. He was not here earlier. Between 2020 and 2023, for Cork City Council the number was 644, with €10 million spent. We want properties to come back into use. Cork City Council spent roughly €19,000 to return each property to use. It is a combination. The councils have a scheme in terms of rents. They are supposed to use that also to bring properties back into use. We want a planned scheme whereby the councils move to bring back into use properties as they become vacant.
The Government is not giving them enough money.
Cork City Council last year got an initial allocation of €1.8 million. It received an additional allocation of €800,000, making a total of €2.56 million.
That is a drop in the ocean.
The point is that this is about a partnership model. Ultimately, we have to have a system. We want councillors to move to a situation whereby they bring properties back into use as quickly as possible as they become vacant. We do not want to see void properties.
67. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his current assessment of all the key housing indicators, that is, commencements, completions and planning permissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6807/24]
123. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how many new homes have been delivered since the launch of the Housing for All plan in September 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6808/24]
It is now two and half years since the Minister introduced the Housing for All plan. What is his assessment as to how the plan is working, by reference to the key indicators in respect of housing such as planning permissions, constructions and commencements?
Second, the reason the Minister and the Government introduced the Housing for All plan was that we recognised that we needed to really speed up the process of building houses. How are we doing in terms of the factual number of units that have been built since the his plan was introduced? I would be interested to hear that.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta O'Callaghan for his question.
Increased supply is key to meeting our housing needs and addressing the challenges in the housing market. That is why we brought forward, as a Government, Housing for All, which is the single biggest intervention in housing any Government has made in the history of the State, and rightly so. That needed to happen. Among the challenges are our priority of homelessness, ensuring that people can buy their own home at an affordable rate and reducing social housing waiting lists. Output for 2022, for which we have the full-year figure, and 2023, for which we do not yet have the full-year figure for social and affordable housing, clearly shows we are on the right track. All the housing indicators - commencements, completions and planning permissions - are trending upwards.
There has been a substantial uplift in the number of new homes delivered since the launch of Housing for All in 2021. The most recent completions data published by the Central Statistics Office show that some 29,726 and 32,695 new homes were completed in 2022 and 2023, respectively. That is just short of 30,000 in 2022, which was more than 5,000 ahead of our target, and 32,695 last year, so we exceeded our target in both years. New home delivery last year was at its highest level in 15 years, some 10% higher than in 2022 and 13% higher than the Housing for All target we set ourselves for 2023.
While housing supply continues to be impacted by external factors, including construction cost inflation, which we have to watch, high interest rates, and labour and capacity to deliver, the outlook for this year is good and that for next year is equally promising.
The number of dwellings granted planning permission in the first nine months of last year was up 13% on the same period in the previous year, 2022. Some 30,000 planning permissions were granted in that period, the second highest granted for the January-to-September period in over ten years, and surpassed only by the 32,835 granted for the same period in 2020. We therefore have a really good pipeline. I think people will see, not just in Dublin but also in our major cities and in towns and villages across the country, the developments that are happening.
Planning approvals in quarter 3 of 2023, the most recent data I have on planning permission, were up 43% year on year, from 6,700-odd units in quarter 3 of 2022 to 9,600 units in quarter 3 of 2023. The number of houses granted planning permission rose by more than 10% in quarter 3 of 2023 when compared with the same period in 2022.
While planning permissions are one element, commencements are also really important. They are the indicators for work actually starting on developments on the ground. The 12-month commencements for the period to the end of December numbered almost 33,000. That is an increase of 21% year on year, with a steady month-on-month increase in the rolling total since mid-2022. Commencements for last year reached the highest annual figure for any calendar year in the past decade.
Initial forecasts suggest that the target we have set ourselves this year, 33,450, will be met this year and will be exceeded again.
I am under no illusion as to the continued challenge we face. We have to continue to increase that supply across all tenures. What leads me to be optimistic about this is the first-time buyer segment. About 600 first-time buyers are drawing down their mortgages now, buying homes because they are using the first home scheme, the equity scheme which this Government brought forward. They continue to use at an increased rate the help-to-buy grant, worth up to €30,000 of their own money.
I have not even touched on vacancy because the vacancy figures are not included in the reply. I might come back to them in a supplementary reply.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Two things have been apparent. First, a new plan was needed. When we came into government, we recognised that something needed to change. That is why the Government deserves to be commended on spending time on putting together a new plan, namely, as the Minister said, Housing for All.
Second, it is difficult and it is a slow process to turn around but, based on the statistics the Minister has given the House, it appears to be the case that things are improving. It is a difficult task and what will ultimately be the proof of the pudding will be the number of units constructed. According to the figures he has given, it is clearly the case that commencements and construction are up significantly. Any fair observer who goes around this city or around the country can see on the ground that there is significant development happening. In my constituency, an area I have spoken to the Minister frequently about is the glass bottle site. That is being constructed, and we just need to see more construction take place around the country.
Another issue which was not taken into account when the plan came into place was the dramatic rise in Ireland's population. Many people talk to us about how in the 1960s and the 1950s we were able to produce housing for our population. That was correct, and Fianna Fáil deserves a lot of credit for that. Unfortunately, however, back in the 1950s and the 1960s, we had a declining population. One of the extraordinary things about Ireland is the way the population is increasing so rapidly at present. Part of the reason for that is our economic success; people want to come here. It does, however, put huge pressure on the Minister and on his plan in terms of meeting the increased demand. Does he think, in light of the population and its increase, that he needs to look again at the targets as to what we require, or is it something he thinks the Housing for All plan at present is capable of dealing with?
I commend the Minister also on the policies that have been put in place for the first home scheme and the help-to-buy scheme. They have helped very many new buyers.
I thank the Deputy. Undoubtedly, the first-time buyer supports are helping. I meet people across the country and in my constituency who say they are working. This Government is committed to retaining them when others want to abolish them.
Importantly, with regard to the outlook for this year, we have seen an increase in construction costs. We had to address that. The plan had to be flexible. That is why we brought in the waiver of the development levy and the Uisce Éireann connection charge refund - to reduce the cost per unit on average between €50,000 and €20,000, depending on whether the property is a house or an apartment. That has led to that increase in commencements.
There is no plan comparable to Housing for All, and it is fully funded. That is the thing that has been really important because it gives the local authorities, the AHBs and all stakeholders, including the private sector, the certainty that the money is there. Others said they would produce a plan over a year ago but have not done so. We still have not seen that.
I was in Brussels last week for a meeting of EPOCH. Let us compare construction across our EU partners. This is important to see where we are going.
There are very serious housing issues in all EU countries. We are the only country out of 19 in which construction grew last year. This year it is projected to grow more than 4.4%, according to the Euroconstruct report. One of the reasons for that, which was put very clearly in this independent report, is State investment. It is the State leading by example with that €5 billion investment. Yes, we do need private investment, too, because to deliver the homes we need, we probably need between €13 billion and €14 billion per annum. As our population increases, we will need more. That is why we need a sustainable construction sector that is delivering really good quality homes for people.
With regard to the targets, work is being done by the ESRI on population growth. Thankfully, our population is growing substantially now, so that has to be assessed as well. We will basically assess the ESRI data and the work that is being done by the Housing Commission. In quarter 2 of this year, I expect that we will come forward with the revised targets for the next number of years to 2030.
I thank the Minister for his answer. It is clear that this is a problem that cannot be solved without State investment. That is why underlying the Housing for All plan is a commitment that we are going to invest significant amounts - €5 billion per annum as he indicated - in trying to increase housing in the country.
There is another sphere, which is the people who have not been able or who do not want to get on the housing ladder. Not everyone wants to commit to buying a house at certain stages in their lives. They are the people in the rental sector. We increased the rent tax credit to €750 in the budget. What is the Minister's view on what more can be done in the rental market? Does he think this is purely a matter that is within the control of the Department of Finance and the budgetary process or is it the case that with an increasing number of units being built and the increased supply will ameliorate the problems many renters are finding in society at present?
The Deputy is correct. There are many people renting who do not want to rent, although some at different stages of their lives will. That is why we took a measure to increase the renter's tax credit to €750. Between 2022 and 2023, that is €1,750 per renter back in their pocket.
The private rental market is not functioning as it should. That is why we must ensure that we try to keep good landlords in the market. That is why this Government brought forward measures to reduce costs for good landlords that are in the market. They are modest but on the basis of landlords keeping their properties in the market. That is where we have seen much of the pressure with landlords exiting the market. We have to fill that hole with cost-rental homes, which, thankfully, we are doing, and affordable purchase homes from approximately €166,000.
There are others who would remove completely that modest support to retain properties in the private rental sector. Last week, a motion tabled by the main Opposition party was quickly withdrawn and replaced by a Private Members' motion on the RTÉ licence fee this week. It kind of shows the priority others have with regard to stabilising the private rental market.
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to what extent he might increase the production of housing in all areas throughout the country to meet the housing demand thereby alleviating the accommodation prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6888/24]
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which he can harness any new measures to accelerate the production and availability of extra housing to meet the obvious demand whether by way of modular, the development of private sites on which affordable or mass produced housing units of a high standard can be made available, with a view to providing accommodation in adequate scale to meet the ever increasing demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6887/24]
250. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the further steps that can be taken to dramatically increase the housing output to meet the requirements of both the public and private housing programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7374/24]
256. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to what extent he expects to be in a position to improve or augment the various schemes encompassing the Housing For All programme with a view to identifying how best these might be improved to meet the challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7380/24]
261. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the degree to which housing policy can be modified to deliver the product at an accelerated pace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7385/24]
Some of the text go lost in translation with regard to Question No. 68.
That is not unusual.
The word "prices" should have read "crisis", but it could also refer to prices. Two questions as set out are connected in that regard.
I ask that we look at the alternatives. Much along the lines of my colleague, we recognise that we are making progress, but we are not making progress quick enough.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 92, 250, 256 and 261 together.
Accelerating the delivery of housing is a key priority for Government. Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase and fast-track the supply of housing, and it is delivering. This continues to break records year on year for the delivery of housing. Almost 33,000, that is, 32,695 new homes were completed last year, which is the highest in 15 years. The residential vacancy rate has dipped below 4% and dereliction is down 7.9% according to GeoDirectory.
Indicators for the future are also very positive, with 32,801 homes commencing construction in 2023 and planning permission granted for 37,600 homes in the year to end September 2023. In fact, the recent Euroconstruct report, as highlighted by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, demonstrated that Ireland is an outlier in Europe. While total construction activity across 19 European countries is expected to fall in 2024, Ireland’s construction activity is due to expand this year. Residential property prices have also moderated significantly with an increase of 2.9% in the year to November 2023, down from a high of 15% in March 2022. That is down to supply and delivery of housing.
Housing for All has an inbuilt flexibility to review measures to reflect the changing and complex needs of the housing system. The latest updated action plan, published in November, continues to focus on activating and delivering housing at pace and enhancing affordability, while fundamentally reforming our housing system to ensure it is sustainable into future.
A comprehensive suite of measures was introduced to further enhance delivery, including: reducing the cost of construction by removing development levies for a limited time, saving up to the value of €12,650 per unit, on average, and encouraging accelerated delivery; increasing the number of vacant and derelict properties being renovated by enhancing the grants available and making it easier to apply; facilitating the commencement of works to thousands of affordable apartments to rent by introducing of the sustainable tenancy affordable rent, STAR, scheme, and revising the terms of the cost rental equity loan, CREL; encouraging innovation in construction to improve the pace and efficiency of house building by taking measures to ensure modern methods of construction are used in more developments effectively, which is in one of Deputy Durkan's questions, to deliver housing more effectively; funding the Land Development Agency, LDA, to assemble strategic land banks for housing on a mix of public and private lands to provide essential long-term stability to the housing market; and identifying State-owned lands that may be available and suitable for housing.
Reflecting the importance of this issue, a record €5.1 billion capital investment in housing was announced in budget 2024. The capital funding being provided will ensure continued delivery of new affordable homes for purchase and rent. All the trends are certainly going in the right direction. As the Minister said, there is no doubt that this is a flexible plan that will adapt and change, as required.
As the previous contributor mentioned, our population is increasing. We are in almost full employment. There is no doubt that this creates challenges, but Government is up to these challenges and, certainly, ensuring we have a vibrant and strong construction sector and a planning and fevelopment Bill that is fit for purpose to help deliver housing in a sustainable way in order that people can participate in that system, while using modern methods of construction to help accelerate the delivery of housing in all tenure types right across the State.
Yes, it is working. As I said, however, it is not working quickly enough. We happen to have in my constituency a situation whereby a variety and cohort of people cannot access the market at all, no matter what happens, except over long waiting periods. For example, we have many people whose homes were repossessed by the banks back in the early days of the financial crash. They are not able to access a loan because of two things, one of which is their age. Obviously, they have moved on in the meantime and are no longer in the age bracket that it is attractive to get a loan at a reasonably affordable cost. We need to do something about that to bring their possibilities upfront and particularly target it at them.
For a number of people then, on one hand, their increment is too high to qualify for a local authority house. We are getting a number of local authority houses from the Part V scheme at present and that is welcome. It is progressive and good. However, it is not quick enough either. There are, therefore, a large number of people on that housing list who have come to be on the list in a variety of ways, one of which is through an application to their local authority. Their income is too high to qualify for a local authority house and too low to qualify for a local authority loan. They are then consigned to the marketplace almost forever. Then, there is the group of people who are getting older and whose housing possibilities are growing dimmer by the day.
This is the last point I will make. A number of people were also knocked off housing lists all over the country during Covid-19 and the lockdown, and unfairly knocked off as far as I am concerned. I ask now, especially, that the Minister considers a new element to the scheme to allow them back on the list without having to go through a waiting period.
The Deputy raised the very important point of people who find themselves in difficult situations, whether it is a home being repossessed, marital breakdown or another issue, which can impact on their ability to sustain housing and find affordable housing. The Government is responding to this through Housing for All, the fresh start principles, the local authority home loan scheme and the Croí Cónaithe grants, which are very useful in enabling people to find properties and renovate them for accommodation.
The Deputy raised the issue of people who are not eligible to apply for a local authority house because their incomes are too high. The Government has delivered 4,200 affordable purchase homes, including in County Kildare, and the delivery of those will continue apace. Cost-rental housing is another option for people who find themselves in that circumstance.
The Deputy also raised issues facing older people who may wish to downsize. The opportunity is there and should be there for people who may wish to live in a smaller home and sell their home on to a family. In my constituency, I find that many older people wish to do that. As the market continues to grow, with different housing tenure types and the development of housing, the opportunity to do that is thankfully starting to prevail.
People who are removed from the local authority housing waiting list have the opportunity to appeal that decision. The Department carries out an annual review of that list. It is important that there is an appeals mechanism in place for people who find themselves in those circumstances.
In summary, there are many different opportunities for people, particularly those who find themselves in such difficult circumstances. That is what the Housing for All plan tries to reflect.
I thank the Minister of State. I agree that people who have been knocked off the housing list can appeal but the appeal does not always work. In fact, it seldom works. The problem is that such people are put to the bottom of the housing list and have no chance of being housed within the next five, six or seven years. That is deplorable, as far as they are concerned. I ask that the Minister look again at Kildare as an example. Rents in the county are as high as €3,000 for month for new housing rentals. That does not work for many of the people in the income bracket I am talking about. It drives up inflation and house prices. Everything is going in the wrong direction for them. House prices are rising very rapidly and, at the same time, the availability of houses is very restricted, with only small numbers coming on the market. A special and unique review of these cases, of which there are many, is needed. I would not be slow to try to exploit every possibility for people in any such situation but it does not work in a number of counties. Kildare is not unique.
There needs to be uniformity in the appeals process across the country and I am certain that there is. As I said, our Department carries out an annual review of that with all the constituent local authorities to ensure there is a fair and balanced approach to appeals. However, appeals do work. If people follow due process, the appeals process can work. As I said, there are many opportunities now for people who find themselves either outside income thresholds. They have other means to get a roof over their heads. Kildare has the highest use of the first home shared equity scheme in the country. There is good usage of the scheme and Kildare County Council is working very diligently on it. As I said, this is an adaptive plan. We are trying to meet the complex needs of many different people who find themselves in difficult circumstances.
69. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on both the provision of emergency funding for multi-unit developments with building defects and the legislation to underpin the full defective buildings redress scheme. [6825/24]
89. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the Government progress in implementing a fire safety defects scheme that will allow full remedial works to be carried out on defective buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6702/24]
I understand that 79 applications have been received by the Department for the interim remediation scheme for apartment and duplex owners with Celtic tiger-era defects across 22 counties, representing almost 7,500 residential units. Will the Minister provide an update on where those application are at and when he expects owner management companies, OMCs, to be able to draw down the funding? Will he also provide an update on when he expects the general scheme of the legislation underpinning the full redress scheme will be brought before the House?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 89 together.
I thank Deputies Ó Broin and O'Callaghan for their questions on this matter and also their ongoing interest and input. I fully acknowledge the difficulties of homeowners and residents of many apartments and duplexes and the stress they are facing as a result of building defects. The Government is committed to helping those whose lives have been impacted by this very serious issue, with full funding for eligible remediation works that ensure they can remain living in their homes. On 29 January last, I held another public webinar on construction and apartment defects. This is the fifth such webinar I have held to update residents and OMCs. I held these alongside the Construction Defects Alliance, the Apartment Owners' Network and the Not Our Fault 100% redress campaign. I am grateful to their representatives for joining me on these webinars which are really useful for providing updates to affected homeowners. The webinars have been attended by an average of 500 homeowners.
On 11 December last, as referred to by Deputy Ó Broin, I announced the opening of the interim remediation scheme for the funding of emergency fire safety defect works. This has to be our priority because it is about ensuring people's safety where they live. Apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013 qualify for this scheme where the fire safety defects were caused by defective design, poor workmanship or materials that breached the building regulations that applied when the property was built. Apartment owner management companies will be funded to carry out the necessary remediation work on a whole-of-building basis. The interim remediation scheme is being administered by the Housing Agency. We have a new programme manager in place specifically for this scheme. It is operated on a nationwide basis and applications can be made by OMCs via the Housing Agency’s website.
As Deputy Ó Broin mentioned, we have received 79 applications. These are being progressed across 22 local authority areas, representing approximately 7,500 residential units. I expect the first of those to be approved very shortly, that is, in the coming weeks. We are using some of the applications as exemplars to work through the application and verification processes. What is also good is that the guidelines are completed regarding the appropriateness or level of work that needs to be done on the fire defects side. We put a lot of work into that issue and the guidelines are very clear and have been published. Registered contractors will now know exactly what works need to be done.
Since I received Government approval to draft legislation for the permanent scheme to establish supports for the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in designated apartment buildings, the Department has been advancing the steps to put the remediation scheme on a statutory footing as a matter of priority. There are complex issues within it but the interim scheme helps with that in looking at other legislation such as the defective concrete blocks Act and the pyrite remediation scheme. Given this, and the significant amount of Exchequer funding the Government has committed to assist affected homeowners, sufficient time is required to ensure the scheme is fit for purpose, provides value for money and, most important, does what we want it to do, namely, support residents in getting their homes back in shape and their lives back together.
I expect the draft legislation to be published in the coming months. I am chasing it up and it is being worked on right now. I want to focus on the fire safety piece and encourage OMCs and individuals to make applications. The Housing Agency is working through those applications directly with agents and OMCs to make sure the proper information is provided. It is not an onerous process.
The other area I am looking at relates to retrospective payments for people who have already remediated and paid for the remediation. I do not believe I will need to wait for the permanent legislation for that to do be done. I am looking at options to refund, obviously on a whole-of-building basis, hard-earned money that people had to borrow or levies that they paid. Again, it will go back to those who have actually paid for remediation. We envisage about a third of the properties have been remediated already-----
The Minister will get a chance to come back in.
I thank the Minister. With respect to fire safety, I would be interested to know if, even at this stage, he has an indication of how much expenditure is likely to be required for the applications and specifically when people will be able to draw down the money. I welcome the fact that decisions will be made soon.
Regarding the legislation, does the Minister envisage an end-to-end scheme such as the pyrite remediation scheme in Leinster or a grant scheme similar to that for defective concrete blocks?
I welcome what the Minister said about retrospection. If there was a standalone refund that could be expedited, he would have Sinn Féin's support on that. Will he confirm that social homes will be fully included in the scheme? Where houses or duplexes in multiple unit developments with OMCs have defects, will there be an opportunity to have those included? I know they are not in the original terms of reference but it would be unfair if a house or duplex in an OMC were excluded despite having similar defects to the apartments in the same scheme.
I will ask about two aspects of this. First, what will happen in the case of management companies where there are serious and known fire safety defects but the management company is not engaging? That can be very unfair on the individual homeowners and residents. As the Minister knows, management companies are not properly regulated and they need to be. What will the Minister do about that?
The second issue is where homes with serious fire safety defects are being sold on, often to unsuspecting buyers. There have been a number of instances of this. It causes huge stress and hardship when people discover they have put their life savings into buying a defective home. Will anything be done about that? I draw the Minister's attention to an article in The Ditch published this week. It detailed the failure of a management company in an area of north Dublin to deal with fire safety defects that first came to light in 2012 for several years. I ask the Minister to address those two particular aspects.
To answer Deputy Ó Broin's question, duplexes within multi-unit developments are included.
The onus is on the purchaser when purchasing a property to ensure the property is surveyed properly. With regard to properties that are sold on, survey work should obviously be done before someone purchases a home. This happened in the pyrite and infill schemes where people genuinely did not know. People may find themselves in the position Deputy O'Callaghan highlighted due to poor professional advice or for other reasons. That was dealt with in the pyrite and infill scheme where the "should have known" clause was effectively set aside on the basis of appeal. I would expect people to be able to apply to the scheme.
A very serious issue relates to some OMCs that are not engaging. Residents can engage and the Housing Agency will assist in that. Most multi-unit developments will have a managing agent. We have been dealing with the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, on a regular basis to make sure the agents are fully au fait with what is now available. To be fair, all Deputies in the House and the members of the housing committee, including Deputies Ó Broin and Cian O'Callaghan, agree that the absolute priority is families and people's safety. It is crucial we deal with the fire safety piece first.
With regard to cost, I do not have a handle on the overall cost. What was interesting from the working group report was that while fire safety issues were the predominant issues, these were, on average, lower cost. That very much varies from apartment to apartment. We were looking at an average cost overall, between structural defects, water ingress and fire safety, of approximately €26,000 per unit but that varies greatly depending on the works. I know of apartment developments where fire safety work has been done and the cost per apartment has been in the low thousands. The works could involve rectifying breaks between apartments and things like that, whereas other works can be more difficult.
I thank the Minister for the clarification with respect to duplexes. There are schemes, such as Millford Manor in Kildare, where the houses had the same defects as the apartments and there was a very serious fire. I ask the Minister to look at that in the context of the legislation.
Has the Minister made up his mind yet on whether this will be an end-to-end scheme similar to the pyrite mediation scheme or a grant scheme? Given the complexity of multi-unit developments, I strongly recommend an end-to-end scheme.
With respect to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan's question around an obligation to declare, there needs to be a change to the law to provide for such a legal obligation where a seller has information about defects, for example, from an extraordinary general meeting, EGM. A standard surveyor's inspection of the property when someone is purchasing will not reveal, for example, the absence of fire stopping, water ingress, etc. For this reason, purchasers of apartments are in a very difficult position. We have seen some cases in the media where people, following purchase, are then contacted by a managing agent or management company to say there are severe defects. I know that is a separate issue, which rests not with the Minister's Department but with the Department of Justice, but I strongly recommend the Minister discuss it with his ministerial colleague.
There should be a legal obligation to declare. When someone gets a survey the surveyors generally do not start opening up the walls to see whether there is fire stopping in place. They tend not to do those kinds of invasive survey works, so there are deficiencies in that process. Given that is unethical to knowingly sell a defective property, should there not be a legal change to give buyers protection? Is that something the Government will consider?
When management companies do not engage but individual residents do, will the Minister give more information on how that works, especially with regard to shared walls, properties, boundaries and those sort of things?
In the context of building defects, when does the Minister propose to formally include County Sligo in the defective concrete blocks grant scheme? In June 2021, I put forward an amendment to a motion to include County Sligo in that scheme and it was carried overwhelmingly in this House. Over the past two years, I have had many letters from the Minister's Department and to be fair, the Minister has always responded promptly. In the most recent letter, which I received at the end of January, the Minister stated the Department had completed its investigations and consultations and a report was being drawn up to, hopefully, include Sligo in the scheme. Where are we with that? Will the Minister give me an update? Will he give certainty to those people who have been waiting a very long time and find themselves in a really difficult position?
I raise the issue of adding County Louth to the defective blocks scheme. I spoke to the Minister about this previously.
It was last night.
Unfortunately, I am aware of a number of properties where the owners found cracks and had the work done, but then had reports done which showed, unfortunately, that the problem is pyrite. I will not name the townland other than to say it is in mid-Louth. Obviously we have given this information to Louth County Council. One of the properties was previously a council house that was bought under the incremental tenant purchase scheme. I hope Louth County Council will be in contact with the Minister, and I will engage with it on that. I ask the Minister and his Department to move quickly. These people have found themselves in dreadful circumstances and fear their houses will come down around them. People have the same issues in Donegal, Sligo and other places.
With regard to the defective concrete block, DCB, scheme, I specifically structured the legislation to ensure we can add additional counties. Homeowners need to know that where they have defective concrete blocks and they meet the criteria set out in the primary legislation, the State is there to help them because of a market failure.
To answer Deputy Harkin, I await the final submission. I expect to add Sligo, as I said publicly a couple of weeks ago. Where a submission is made to formally add a county to a scheme, the local authority will collate the data it receives, carry out surveys with the assistance of the Housing Agency and then report back to the Department. I expect Sligo to be added to the scheme because we have the data from the county. I have not received the formal submission yet but it is imminent and I will let the Deputy know.
With regard to County Louth, I spoke to Deputy Ó Murchú about the matter last night on the margins of the proceedings. I have not received any details from Louth yet. The local authority has a role in that regard. In my county, Fingal, we have a very small number of affected homes - it is approximately 12 or 14 - which will be included. Again, we await that submission. Homeowners need to know that this Government will assist them. They must meet the criteria that have been set down and the mechanism to do that is via their local authorities. When we get a submission to the Department we will include them in the scheme. Sligo will be included very soon.
On the points raised by Deputies O'Callaghan and Ó Broin, conveyance and the management of multi-unit developments fall under the Department of Justice. Work is being done on conveyance by an interdepartmental group led by the Department of Justice. The principle of caveat emptor applies to everyone who buys an apartment built within the relevant period of time. The OMC accounts will show if there are levies being levied on homeowners. That would all come through in the conveyance. I take the point with regard to there being a legal onus. I know surveyors will not open up walls.
Even from financial data or talking to residents in an estate or prospective neighbours, most people will be aware of whether there are issues within their apartments. It should be a small number of cases but we will allow those people-----
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire.
I will conclude on this really quickly because it is important. The pyrite and infill scheme did set aside the "should have known" clause, if someone can actually prove they genuinely did not and made every effort to. I expect that to be the same with the apartment defects scheme.
70. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes acquired to date under the new cost-rental tenant in situ scheme; the number that have been served a notice to quit under the extended tenant in situ scheme for tenants in receipt of housing supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6724/24]
When the moratorium on winter evictions was lifted, the Government introduced two schemes that aimed to reduce the risk of homelessness for renters who are served with a notice to quit. The tenant in situ scheme for renters in the private sector gave reassurance to many desperate tenants. I would like to ask the Minister of State about the number of homes acquired under both schemes, as the latest figure I have is from October of last year, which notes that only two homes were acquired under the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme.
The Government has developed the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell the property but who are not in receipt of social housing supports. The scheme was established on a temporary administrative basis from 1 April 2023 and is managed by the Housing Agency pending further policy development over the longer term, with the intention of transitioning these tenants and homes to the standard cost-rental model.
Tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell a property but who are not in receipt of social housing supports, and have an annual net household income not exceeding €66,000 in any of the Dublin local authority areas or €59,000 in the rest of Ireland, are eligible to apply. I am informed that the Housing Agency is engaging with more than 130 landlords across all local authority areas, with a view to the purchase of those homes.
With regard to the tenant in situ scheme, my Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and approved housing bodies in each local authority, including completed acquisitions. From 2023, this data includes a breakdown of acquisitions completed by each local authority where a notice of termination issued to a tenant, and is available for all local authorities to the end of quarter 3 of 2023 on the statistics page of our Department's website.
The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, mentioned 1,800 units in the tenant in situ scheme, if I am correct. Further to that, we have been notified of certain cases where local authorities will not proceed with an offer as the value of the home is too expensive. Could the Minister of State inform us of the price guidelines or caps given to local authorities for these acquisitions?
There are price guidelines for each local authority. I do not have them to hand here. With regard to the number of homes acquired under the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme to date, 47 bids have been accepted to the end of quarter 3 of 2023 since the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2023. Those bids will obviously be expected to rise over the coming months.
Are the guidelines for the price caps available online?
They are, yes.
I will come back to that one. Finally, could the Minister of State give an update on the legislation for first refusal, which would oblige landlords to offer the property to tenants for purchase before putting it on the open market?
The guidelines are there and they are consistent with local authority housing purchase. Local authorities do have some discretion with regard to those.
Could the Minister of State answer on the first refusal legislation?
That legislation is in preparation at the moment.
We have time for one more question, and not full time.
71. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on the decarbonisation of the social housing stock; what progress has been made to retrofit the social housing stock; if there are plans to establish a dedicated programme to install solar PV on the social housing stock; what engagement has his Department had with industry in order to decarbonise the social housing stock most quickly and effectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6829/24]
Can the Minister of State report on the decarbonisation of the social housing stock? What progress has been made to retrofit the social housing stock? Are there plans to establish a dedicated programme to install solar PV on the social housing stock? What engagement has the Department had with industry in order to decarbonise the social housing stock most quickly and effectively?
Under the climate action plan, the retrofit target for local authority owned homes is to retrofit 36,500 to BER B2 or cost optimal equivalent by 2030. As part of this new scheme over the period 2021 to 2023, 5,766 local authority homes have been retrofitted to B2 cost optimal equivalent. Furthermore, retrofit works were completed on over 74,000 local authority-owned dwelling since 2013 to the end of 2021 under the previous scheme.
As a result of the advanced performance requirements of building regulations, it is estimated that approximately 40,000 local authority dwellings have been constructed to a typical A or B rating since 2008. Taking account of new housing delivered by local authorities and the energy efficiency retrofit programme, it is expected that approximately 70% of local authority housing will have a typical BER of A or B by 2030.
In line with Government and EU policy, an efficiency first approach is adopted for local authority retrofit programmes. Fabric measures and efficient renewable heat pumps systems are supported by the energy efficiency retrofit programme to achieve a BER of B2 or cost optimal level. Fossil fuel boilers are not supported by the energy efficiency retrofit programme and have been effectively phased out in new dwellings.
My Department does provide funding for PV panels in limited circumstances. Furthermore, the draft energy performance building directive recently agreed by the EU institutions requires that in their national building renovation plans, member states shall include policies and measures with regard to the deployment of suitable solar energy installations on all buildings. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and our own Department are commencing work on the transposition of this directive in the coming months.
I will take one supplementary. I want to say that there is a significant need to expand this programme, to increase investment in it, and to expand the eligibility criteria.
If I can digress, an important role that local councillors have will be overseeing the implementation of these schemes. I have a concern, as the Minister and Minister of State are aware, with regard to the eligibility criteria of people who might want to be members of local authorities, specifically retained firefighters. The application of SI 216/2004 and Circular Letter LG(P) 06/09 is restrictive. It is not fair on retained firefighters. It has been applied differently in different local authorities. I have raised it with the Minister and Minister of State, and it is something we need to see progress on in the immediate future.
We note the last point the Deputy has made. If he looks at the funding for this particular programme, in 2023, €76.9 million was provided. There were 2,445, which was the target. Next year, the target is 3,500 social homes. We have an increased allocation in that area. We are looking at this as a programme we want to work. It is a programme we are committed to, and we are looking at the target of 36,500. It does not go without saying that by 2030, we are looking to have 70% of social housing stock with a BER rating of A or B. Our Department is currently working with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on looking at the transposition of that draft energy performance building directive from the EU with regard to policies around the deployment of suitable solar energy installations on all buildings, including social housing stock.
On the retained firefighters, is the Minister of State going to work on that with the Department, and can retained firefighters expect to be treated fairly in the application of that circular?
It is something we are looking at. We have received correspondence from the Deputy and others, and it is something that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I are considering as we speak.
I was hoping to speak on the next question.
We are not going to be able to reach it now because I think we are out of time.
