Vol. 1060 No. 3
54. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on revised social housing targets in Clare; the progress on the target of 153 new social homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42931/24]
I ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on revised social housing targets in Clare; the progress on the target of 153 new social homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The research published in July by the ESRI on population growth and structural housing demand to 2040 provides a credible evidence base for the development of revised housing targets by my Department. Officials in my Department have considered the implications of the ESRI research and estimated the level of unmet demand for the revised housing targets. They have also considered other policy imperatives, such as the appropriate mix of social, affordable and private ownership and private rental housing that will be required. The revised housing targets will have regard to the forthcoming update to the national planning framework, which is running alongside it and will be published in draft. The public consultation on it concluded on 12 September and received a significant number of submissions, which are being assessed. There is also the good work of the Housing Commission. All of that will provide an overall average housing delivery target. As the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, said, we hope to publish the increased housing targets in the coming weeks. The targets will take effect from 2025 and provide for both new household formation and pent-up demand. The work is ongoing as I speak.
Clare County Council has a target to deliver 153 new-build social homes in 2024. In the first six months of the year, it delivered 16 new-build homes. However, Clare exceeded its targets in both 2022 and 2023. Traditionally, the delivery of social housing rises throughout the year, with the vast majority of local authority and approved housing body new delivery coming in the second half of the year, particularly the last quarter. Last year, 6,000 new social homes were delivered in the last quarter. Our projections are good for completions. Clare County Council will not just meet but exceed the target set for this year and we will then work towards the pipeline for 2025.
The ESRI research is noteworthy and it is positive that work is ongoing. However, I must refer to the low number of social housing homes delivered in County Clare since 2016, namely, zero in 2016 and 2017; two in 2018; 25 the following year; 34 the year after that; 55 in 2021; and it then jumped to 184 in 2022. According to the statistics on the Department's website, there were only 31 last year, although 153 are due to be delivered by the end of this year. Many developments are due to be completed by the year-end and I hope it will exceed that target. Nonetheless, 331 over eight years is very low, taking into account the housing emergency of recent years.
As the Deputy knows, I have been to Clare a number of times. The housing team in Clare are doing a very good job. Some homes are delivered directly by the local authority and some through approved housing bodies, and a combination of repair and lease is also bringing older buildings back into use. The years 2020 and 2021 were constrained due to the construction shutdowns during Covid, which seems like the dark, distant past at this stage. Since then, Clare County Council has delivered 595 new homes up to the end of 2023, and that is on build only. On top of that, it has delivered 177 on acquisitions and 120 on leases. This year will have strong delivery. I know the Deputy is a strong advocate of social housing in County Clare. Based on my projections and preparations for answering her today, we will exceed the target and set new targets. What has helped with the local authorities is that we have been able to set those targets on a multi-annual basis so they have been able to plan for it. I have been very impressed by the work that Clare has done, coming from a very low base to a high level of delivery.
I appreciate that it is increasing year-on-year but over 40,000 people are accessing emergency accommodation, and that does not account for everyone who is homeless currently. That is 2,099 families and 4,419 children, which is an increase of 14% from last year. In one year, from August of last year to this year, 1,795 additional people entered emergency accommodation. We know the Simon Community’s recent report, Locked Out of the Market, raised concerns about the lack of affordable housing and that this is forcing families and single people into homelessness, and for longer. That was the most damning thing that came across in the report. There are very few opportunities to secure a home. In County Clare, over 75% are in need of one and two-bedroom properties and nearly 2,900 are on the housing list currently.
The Deputy mentioned the overall national figures.
If we look at 2023, just short of 12,000 social homes were delivered. Of those, 8,110 were new-build social homes. That was the highest number in 50 years. Mainly through the tenant in situ programme, we purchased 1,830 new homes, ended HAP tenancies and insecure tenancies and converted them to social housing tenancies. We delivered 1,999 new homes through various leasing programmes. That is a 16% step up on the previous year so we are building year on year and I can confidently predict that this year, we will not only attain our social housing targets but exceed them. That is progress while recognising the fact that many challenges remain, number one being homelessness. At the end of quarter two, which is the last quarter I have full data on, we exited 630 households out of homelessness into safe and secure housing. We still need to do more and we need to accelerate that delivery. That is the challenge we have and I am confident we will do it.
56. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social and affordable houses that have been completed in Cavan and Monaghan during this Government's term of office and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42911/24]
62. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how he plans to enable local authorities to accelerate the provision of housing in Cavan and Monaghan considering that the Housing Commission recently reported the need for additional local authority housing of between 12,000 and 15,000 homes by 2050 and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42912/24]
Will the Minister report on the number of social and affordable houses that have been completed in Cavan and Monaghan under this Government's mandate? Will he detail how he plans to enable local authorities to accelerate the provision of housing in Cavan and Monaghan considering that the Housing Commission recently reported the need for additional local housing of between 12,000 and 15,000 houses by 2050? I think it was something between 900 and 1,100 in Monaghan.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 62 together. In Cavan, 309 social homes were delivered through build, acquisition and lease since the formation of the Government to the end of quarter two of 2024, of which 216 were new-build homes. During the same period, 41 affordable homes were delivered. In Monaghan, 485 social homes were delivered through build, acquisition and lease since the formation of the Government to the end of quarter two of 2024, of which 353 were new-build homes. During the same period, 33 affordable homes were delivered. The quarter two social housing construction status report shows both local authorities have strong pipelines and between them have 660 new-build social homes either on site or at design and procurement stages.
A central element of Housing for All is to build institutional capacity. As part of the measures to support increasing that capacity, Housing for All commits to strengthening the capacity of local authorities, and it is doing that, to both programme manage and initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects. It recognises that this requires the resourcing of the housing services of local authorities. Both Cavan and Monaghan received sanction to fill additional posts. Additional resources were also allocated to the Housing Agency project and procurement office to support local authorities and approved housing bodies deliver housing. I have visited Cavan and Monaghan on a number of occasions and have been very struck by the work both local authorities have done on conversion of vacant properties. An example is Fermanagh Street in Clones in Monaghan where exceptional work has been done with the delivery of housing for seniors. The completion and build out of what were previously ghost or unfinished estates is another example. I have been in the Deputy's constituency a number of times to view them. I am not sure if I have met her on any of my visits. She was certainly invited and is very welcome to come again. That is not a criticism because all of us are working hard to deliver those additional homes. I commend both local authorities on the work they are doing. We are providing the resources for them to do more. As I said in response to Deputy Wynne, I expect that there will be additional asks of our local authorities to deliver more social homes in 2025 and 2026 to the end of the decade. Last year, we built more new social homes than had been done in 50 years. That is not to say everything is resolved. Of course, it is not. There is certainly more that needs to be done in that space. Progress is being made and we want to step that up further. I am very confident because of the excellent people I have met on the ground in Deputy Tully's constituency. Two excellent housing teams and excellent management teams in the local authorities are really innovating in their delivery. From the larger towns in Cavan and Monaghan to the smaller villages, I see social housing being delivered. Of course, we want to scale that up and we will do that. We will continue to work very closely with our local authorities and approved housing bodies, which are a very important deliverer of social housing. Some Deputies in this House - not Deputy Tully - would question delivery by approved housing bodies but that it is a different type of social home. I can tell the House that when I see the excellent homes that are built through approved housing bodies and local authorities to the highest standards and meet the families getting the keys for their homes for life, I can see what a difference that makes to them. We need to do more and we will do more. I am confident that we can do more.
Could the Minister provide me with a bit more detail on affordable housing and how that was delivered? At my last meeting with Cavan County Council, my understanding was that it had not delivered any affordable housing? Does that mean it was done through the approved housing bodies or was it done by the council? I am not being critical of approved housing bodies, which do excellent work. We have quite a significant number of people on the housing list or in receipt of housing supports. More than 1,900 people in Cavan are in receipt of HAP. Not all of them are on the social housing list and many of those who are not on the list but are receiving HAP cannot afford to rent at current prices and cannot save for a deposit. They feel they are in no man's land. They need a large-scale affordable housing scheme where they can purchase or rent at affordable prices. Many other people are not in receipt of HAP because they are living at home with parents or sofa surfing among friends because they cannot find anywhere that will accept HAP. Even if they did, the rents are so sky high, they could not afford it and the council would not approve it anyway.
A total of 21 local authorities across the country have come forward with their own affordable housing schemes. We have other affordability measures. The Deputy mentioned the difficulties renters face in saving. That is why the help to buy grant is so critically important and applies to self-build homes as well. I know Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson is not here but that is a scheme he would get rid of and he would also get rid of the first home scheme, which also helps self builds. In fairness, some of Deputy Tully's colleagues regularly ask me parliamentary questions about how we can improve and extend the existing schemes.
Through the first home scheme in Cavan County Council, 23 homes have been delivered. In Monaghan, 15 homes have been delivered through the first home scheme so 38 families in the Deputy's constituency now have a home who would not have one if Sinn Féin was in government. The vacant property grant, which Sinn Féin said it would restrict, was drawn down by 15 and by 13 in Monaghan so it involved 28 homes - 66 in total. If we look at the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme, a further eight homes were delivered. They are the affordable homes that are being delivered but I want the local authorities to bring forward their own schemes as well.
I fully support the vacant property grant as does my party but we would change it. We would not scrap it as the Minister continually says. We would change it and make it better. The first home scheme drives up the price of housing. We know that. Perhaps my figures are incorrect but I believe that the tenant in situ scheme has only involved three properties in Cavan and five in Monaghan. People have come to me who are renting a house. The house goes on sale, they are in negotiations hoping the council will buy the house, the council is willing to buy the house but the next thing, all negotiations stop, they do not know why and they get no explanation. I have sought answers from the Minister but they are not provided, which is very frustrating for people because people want to know if there are issues around the house that could be resolved very easily, they would be willing to do that and they should be given that opportunity.
Housing is affecting everything in life. We heard today that we have a shortage of 1,000 primary school teachers. Many of them are leaving because they cannot afford to live here and the main reason for that is the cost of housing.
I will get the Deputy the exact tenant in situ purchases. The figure for cost-rental tenant in situ in her constituency is eight so I can confidently tell that the figure for the tenant in situ will be substantially higher than that.
Last year, we purchased over 1,800 social homes. We will do more than that this year. In the Deputy's constituency, the figure is substantially higher than she said, but I will get her the figures. I will say that Sinn Féin provided no funding for the vacant property grant in its alternative budget. It also brought forward a cap on salaries for people who could access it. I am glad the Deputy supports the scheme. I respect the fact people want a change but it is working. We have had more than 11,000 applications to it.
To get back to the affordable housing piece, I encourage all local authorities that have yet to bring forward affordable housing schemes of their own delivery to do so as well. The affordable housing we have been able to deliver in Cavan and Monaghan has been delivered through the first home scheme and the vacant property grant, with the assistance of the help-to-buy grant. I will get the figures for the tenant in-situ scheme and send them to the Deputy. I do not have them to hand.
58. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of tenant in-situ applications approved in Cork city and county since the inception of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42876/24]
What is the number of tenant in-situ applications approved in Cork city and county since the inception of the scheme?
Under Housing for All, we made provision for the purchase of 200 social housing acquisitions and to permit that each year. In 2023, with the Deputy's support, the Government agreed that we would increase the provision and the allocation of funds for 1,500 social housing acquisitions. This has continued into 2024 and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes this year. Last year, we did more than 1,800, as the Deputy knows, and revised the target. The additional acquisitions are focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a notice of termination due to the landlord’s intent to sell the property. Each local authority has been provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions this year, with additional headroom of 50% on the allocation being made available under delegated sanction. Acquisitions above that are subject to sanction, and my Department issued a circular to local authorities in March this year.
In 2023, Cork City Council acquired 109 homes, exceeding its target of 80. Progress continues into 2024. To date, Cork City Council has completed 105 acquisitions. Cork County Council also performed strongly last year. In 2023, 74 homes were acquired, exceeding its original target of 60. In 2024, as of the end of September, Cork County Council had already completed 81 acquisitions.
We are encouraging local authorities to continue with the purchase of homes with tenants in situ. It is an excellent preventative measure but it also ends insecure HAP tenancies in the main, which are very expensive for the State, purchases a home and asset for the State, and converts it to a safe and secure social home. Those are the most up-to-date figures I have.
The scheme is a very good one. I said that and welcomed it when it was initiated a few years ago. It is good to see that those targets are not ceilings, which the Minister has reiterated on the floor of the Dáil on numerous occasions. For a while, there was resistance in certain local authorities regarding targets. It is good to see that both Cork city and county have breached those targets, as indicated by the figures the Minister gave. They are obviously not taking them as limits. I ask the Minister to continue to encourage all local authorities throughout the country to treat those targets as minimum rather than maximum targets.
I will raise one issue. When we are doing our constituency clinics, we probably do not hear about the applications that sail through and are very straightforward. However, there are difficulties from time to time for people. I know of one case that has gone on for nearly 18 months. I have no doubt that is an outlier, but does the Minister have any information on the average turnaround time nationwide to deal with the tenant in-situ scheme?
The targets that were set were baseline targets. Like last year, I would like our local authorities to exceed those targets. It is difficult to get an average processing time because we are dependent on conveyancing, in particular, how that works out, and how smoothly it works. I find with most that once the property has gone sale agreed, it secures the tenancy in the main. We have come across issues. At the start of the scheme, we had transboundary issues, where a tenant might be on another local authority list. That has been resolved. The issue of under-occupation and over-occupation has also been dealt with. I have said to local authorities to acquire the properties. If they are too large for a household or family, they can be reallocated in future. From my perspective, the scheme has been very important as we continue to increase the delivery of social housing throughout the country. Social housing delivery in Cork city and county has been very impressive, as has affordable housing delivery. This is a very important weapon in our armoury for families to secure those homes as their permanent homes and to secure those tenancies.
I have one or two supplementary questions. To address the point the Minister raised, a family might be in a three-bedroom home but due to their circumstances, on a transfer, might be looking to go to a two-bedroom, or whatever the case may be. To clarify, the Minister is saying to local authorities that if somebody only qualifies for a two-bedroom home but is in situ in a three-bedroom home, the local authority can allow them to remain and, as the Minister said, subsequently acquire an asset and reallocate it to another family in future. Will the Minister clarify that?
There has been talk about local authorities possibly paying higher rents to landlords in some tenant in-situ cases. Is there any information on that? If somebody were issued with an eviction notice because a landlord might be stuck on a lower rent or in a rent pressure zone, is there any ability for the local authority to renegotiate outside the limits of the terms of the rent pressure zone to allow people, if they are not willing to buy, to at least stay in the property to ensure they do not go into homelessness?
In support of the Deputy and the theme he is developing, is it possible to put together a bundle of opportunities that might be availed of by various families who are finding it difficult to get into the housing market? For instance, the first response in respect of the tenant in-situ scheme seems to be refusal. That creates a delay and does not solve the housing problem for the individual concerned. There is also Croí Cónaithe. All are good schemes, but only if they are applied and put into operation. I strongly support the previous speaker and the variations he suggested. The time has come to ensure that a bundle of options becomes available and not just one that is dismissed. There is a need for encouragement there.
On the ability of a local authority to breach the rent pressure zone rules, the ability to renegotiate a rent that breaches the rules is not there. As the Deputy knows, we are looking at that and at what will replace RPZs, which have been extended to the end of 2025. It will be a big job for the next government to look at what protections will be brought in in the future.
It is important to again state that a local authority can purchase a home that is larger than the number of occupants, for example, a three-person family in a three-bedroom home, on the basis that they may be reallocated in future. I have had it the other way around, where there is a large family and the home is over-occupied. The options may be very slim for them or restrictive as to where they would go. Local authorities have the ability to do that. In some instances, a local authority could say to the tenant that it is purchasing the home, that he or she will not be there forever, and that it will wait until that tenant is reallocated.
On the options Deputy Durkan spoke of, I have been clear with local authorities to look at all options when a notice of termination comes forward, especially in relation to allocation of new social homes. Sometimes, someone can be quite high up the list but might be just outside the offer zone. He or she can get an offer now. That can be accelerated and can be done. I have seen that happening as well. We need to keep an eye on this scheme and continue to manage it.
57. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the Croí Cónaithe scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42643/24]
63. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an overview of how many Croí Cónaithe applications have been made and processed in Cork city and county for 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42877/24]
66. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of properties for which a vacant homes grant has been approved; the number of properties where a grant has been paid; whether he is concerned that the number of paid grants is much lower than the number approved even allowing a reasonable time to carry out the work; the steps he intends taking to deal with this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42859/24]
70. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether it is intended to change the terms and conditions of the vacant property refurbishment grant to extend the timeframe in which work has to be completed, taking into account the shortage of registered contractors available for such work and the knock-on delay caused by the Covid pandemic to building works in general; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42858/24]
73. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the latest figures for drawdowns by local authority area for the vacant property refurbishment and vacancy grants. [42864/24]
I ask the Minister for an overview of how many Croí Cónaithe applications have been made and processed in Cork city and county for 2023 and 2024.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 63, 66, 70 and 73 together.
The vacant property refurbishment grant, or the Croí Cónaithe towns grant, is a key support introduced by this Government to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use. It is a significant grant. A grant of up to €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available to rent in the long-term rental market. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to €70,000. The grant is available in respect of vacant and derelict properties built prior to 2008 in towns, villages, cities and rural one-off homes across the country. The level of interest in the grant and its take-up have been significant since it was launched. To date, more than 10,200 grant applications have been received across local authorities and more than have been 6,800 approved. Payment of grants by local authorities commenced at the end of 2023. While there was some criticism of the slow drawdown of the grants, I am not aware of any other grant that is paid upfront before the work is actually done. That what was asked for by some on the opposite side of the House. We are seeing this increase, with more than 930 grants now paid. That is 930 properties that are completed where the grant is paid out. I expect this trend to continue, with the number of grants paid significantly increasing over the coming months as more refurbishment works are completed. Payment of the grant on completion of works is normal for these kinds of grants, such as the SEAI grants and housing adaptation grants, which are also paid when works are completed. Given the need to protect Exchequer funding, it is considered reasonable that the grant is paid at this point.
My Department publishes data on the grant, including numbers of applications and grants paid, on its website on a quarterly basis, providing breakdowns by local authority. The statistics for quarter 3 of 2024 were published yesterday, and I will arrange for the relevant web link to be circulated with the Official Report. Once a grant application receives approval, applicants have a period of 13 months to complete the approved works. However, where an applicant is experiencing particular issues and cannot complete the works under the grant within this 13-month period, the local authority may consider and grant an extension of the approval period at its discretion on a case-by-case basis. My Department issued a circular to all local authorities in October 2023 in this regard, with a further communication issued this month. Where an applicant is experiencing difficulty in complying with the timeline or anticipates doing so, it is recommended that they make direct contact with the vacant homes officer in their relevant local authority area.
When the Croí Cónaithe towns fund was launched, a commitment was given that a review of the schemes under it, including the vacant property refurbishment grant, would be undertaken by mid-2024. The review has been completed and I am considering its contents. I expect to be able to make recommendations to Government in due course regarding the grant and any changes that might be merited. The grant is making a real impact in addressing vacancy in areas of our cities, towns and villages and rural areas across the country and is making the purchase and refurbishment of these properties a more affordable option for those seeking to purchase their own home. Between the vacant property refurbishment grant and the SEAI grants, there is up to €100,000 now available to help people bring a vacant home back into use. In April this year, an update on the vacant homes action plan, which sets out the various actions being pursued by this Government to return vacant properties back into use, was published. The grant, alongside a suite of other measures introduced, shows this Government's commitment to tackling vacancy and bringing these properties back into use as homes.
We have changed the local authority home loan, which was a very significant one, and brought in a low-interest bridging loan because some people, and many Deputies, raised the issue for some applicants of actually of doing the work and waiting for the grant to be paid at the end of it. Through the local authorities, we now allow the local authority home loan to be used against vacant and derelict properties. That was never allowed before and is a significant change. Alongside that, with the same application, buyers can apply for a low-interest bridging loan for the grant amount. A buyer can accelerate and do that work and simply pay it back within 18 months. We have had applications for that too. There is a real opportunity for us to continue to accelerate the process of bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. It makes a massive difference for the homeowner or the person renting the home. There is a benefit to the community, town, village, rural area or city to have these properties that have been vacant for such a long time brought back into use. I have visited many of them across the country and intend to do so later this week when I am in Cork city and county. It is something we are committed to. I would like to see it extended. I would not like to see it restricted or indeed abolished. The main Opposition party has proposed, inexplicably, to scrap a grant that is actually working. Sinn Féin wants to return all this to the local authorities. Its members are not in the Chamber to answer for themselves because they are not here. It shows how important questions on housing are to Sinn Féin and others.
Getting back to Deputy O'Sullivan's point, I know he and other colleagues are very supportive of this. We want to see this grant extended further. I would like to see it being a mainstay for the remainder of the decade.
The Minister is right. I would love to see it extended and enhanced, if possible. To be fair to the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, in the few years I have been in the House listening to them fielding questions on housing, they have always said the most efficient house to bring back into circulation is the house that is already built. That is why this grant is so important.
The Minister stated the report is currently with him and he will issue the recommendations in due course. Does "due course" mean before the end of this year? People might otherwise be engaged and I am very keen to see it published, if that is the case. Do the recommendations also include the provision to reduce property vacancy from 24 months to 12? Is that being considered? I know the Minister will not give me a definitive answer, but he might comment on whether it is being considered. The Minister said the overall number of overall applications were 10,200, of which 6,800 were approved. To clarify, does that mean 3,400 were refused or does it mean there are many outstanding?
This scheme is a great idea. The Minister knows I am big supporter of it. The number of applications is satisfactory. It will bring a lot of houses back to life. I noticed the scheme seems to be much more successful in rural areas, which highlights an ongoing physical difficulty of doing up terraced houses. The Minister said 930 applications have been paid out, which is approximately 10%. That seems low. The Minister also said an extension to 13 months is also possible. People are coming to me who are hitting the wall and getting the work done, but have not completed it. Can they get second extensions and so on? Is that absolute discretion with the local authority, or is there a limit to the time given? If they were doing nothing, that would be fair enough, but if progress is being made, it would be a pity not to let the applicants finish. Were there any discussions with the credit unions about providing bridging finance? The local authority home loan is an interesting idea, but credit unions should have been much more proactive in this.
I might give some figures first, which might be helpful to the Deputies. In Cork city, 318 applications were received, of which 241 were approved. Only nine were rejected. The other applications are being processed and applications are still coming in. A total of 28 grants have been paid out in Cork city. That figure will accelerate substantially over the coming months. We are budgeting for approximately €94 million to be paid out through the grant this year, because we see where the 13-month period is, to answer Deputy Ó Cuív. In County Cork, 860 applications were received, of which 617 were approved and 54 were paid out.
A total of 454 applications were received in Galway, of which 281 were approved and 22 were rejected.
Is that the city or the county?
That is County Galway. Galway city is behind and we have engaged with the council. A total of 79 applications were received, of which 58 were approved. I can provide these details to Deputies across local authorities. To answer Deputy Ó Cuív's question, extensions can be granted.
I have not had any case come back to me where a local authority said it would not extend it if it was reasonable to do so. We are not telling them not to.
Deputy Ó Cuív took my second supplementary question. It related to bridging finance and whether any directions or guidelines have been issued by the Department or the Department of Finance to credit unions or other financial institutions in respect of the provision of bridging finance. This is a no-brainer. I would like it to happen.
The urban-rural divide is obvious in figures relating to Galway and Cork, as Deputy Ó Cuív highlighted. Going back to the recommendations in the report, can any further enhanced incentives be provided, especially in urban areas, given the disparity in the figures relating to the level of uptake.
When people talk about reviews of schemes that are working, I always worry that someone will have a rush of blood to the head and suspend a particular scheme while a review is being carried out. This scheme is successful. Why break something that is working successfully? The Minister referred to approximately 10,000 applications. Allowing that some will be rejected, if 9,000 houses were done and paid for, that would be a massive increase in the housing stock in situ. That would be major progress. If the rate of refurbishment is approximately 5,000 per year, will the Minister indicate the percentage of new available houses on the market that represents? That is relevant. It is significant, but how significant is it as an addition to the stock of available houses for people to rent in the long term? The great thing about this scheme is that people can only get the grant if they live in the property or it is being rented long-term.
Local authorities can identify houses that are derelict and go down the compulsory purchase order, CPO, route. Does the Minister have any indication of how many houses might be eligible for the vacant property grant? Is there any link between what the local authorities are doing in identifying vacant properties and the vacant property tax, which might act as an incentive for people to avail of the grant and bring properties back into use?
I will give the Minister one minute to answer the three questions.
On bridging finance, the local authority home loan is useful. I meet representatives from the three main banks regularly. I have met representatives of PTSB, AIB and Bank of Ireland to discuss this matter. The retail banks are pushing towards the green mortgages, which would be ideal to lend on and provide bridging finance. The meetings I had with them were positive. I have not met the credit unions. I know there has been engagement with them on this and that some credit unions are lending on the basis of the grant certificate being issued. There is a real opportunity for financial institutions to do something for their communities and for prospective homeowners.
On the percentage of properties, if we are to deliver 40,000 homes this year, we are tracking the vacant homes coming back into use. I am tracking the vacant homes coming through the Croí Cónaithe grants in our affordable housing listings, once the work has been concluded. We can scale this up even further.
I thank the Minister.
I assure Deputies that the review was sought by the three Ministers. Its purpose is not to stop this; I want to see it evolve, accelerate and improve in the future. It should be a mainstay from a climate perspective and from the perspective of urban and rural regeneration. I expect that we will come forward with some changes for above-the-shop accommodation very shortly.
I thank the Minister. I have been very flexible
I know.
72. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which he can identify, through the various local authorities, suitably developed sites on which builders can be contracted to provide extra homes in the shortest possible time and utilising variations of housing proposals to achieve these, including modular homes and conventional methods, to provide houses for those on local authority waiting lists and those who have so far failed to qualify for a mortgage or an affordable house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42874/24]
The question adequately explains the situation I and several others are faced with. I compliment the Minister. He has shed some considerable light on a situation that annoys us from time to time. With particular reference to the tenant in situ scheme, my experience has been that the proposal is refused in the first instance, although the landlord is willing to sell and so on. In some cases, it is because the house is deemed to be in excess of the size required by a particular family. One case that comes to mind is a household of six people. The house was big enough for them, but it is being repossessed and will have to be reconfigured in such a way as to make it possible. Otherwise, they will placed on the homeless list and will be looking for a local authority house, which they will not get. I compliment the Minister on his clarification of some of the issues this evening. I hope action can be taken as a matter of urgency.
On the tenant in situ scheme, as the Minister outlined earlier, it is a demand-led scheme. We have asked local authorities to bring forward potential properties under the scheme and also under the Department's social housing investment programme. We are making available to all local authorities and approved housing bodies funds to deliver new social housing in direct construction and in partnership with turnkey developments. More than 25,000 new-build social housing units are currently at design-tender stage. These will offer huge opportunities to building contractors across the country and will certainly account for much of the supply that will be required to drive social housing delivery into 2025 and 2026.
64. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to introduce national guidelines to manage the development of large-scale solar farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41434/24]
This question relates to the possible need to introduce national guidelines to manage the development of large-scale solar farms. In my part of the country, we are seeing hundreds of acres being earmarked for solar farms. As the Tánaiste stated last week, we are talking about 40 shades of green turning into 40 shades of grey.
As with the vast majority of development types, there are currently no specific planning guidelines in place in respect of solar energy development. Proposals for individual solar energy developments are subject to the statutory requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, in the same manner as other proposed developments. Planning applications are made to the relevant local planning authority, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal.
Within the wider national and local planning context, planning authorities must make their decisions based on the specific merits of individual planning applications. In making such decisions, including in respect of a large-scale solar energy development, a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála, as appropriate, must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the development plan, including any zoning objectives, submissions or observations received from the public and statutory consultees and any other relevant ministerial or Government policies, including any guidelines issued by the Department. While the Department is satisfied that the planning code is sufficiently robust to facilitate the assessment of individual planning applications for solar energy developments, the matter is being kept under review.
I thank the Minister of State for his response, but I put it to him that the development of large-scale - I am talking about hundreds of acres - solar farms is very new. While we have national guidelines on the production of renewable energy that seem to dictate planning guidelines, there are no guidelines on large-scale solar farms. This involves the transformation of whole townlands and tracts of land. As far as the eye can see they are turning grey. Is it not about time the Government went beyond reviewing this and took action to balance this with the issue of production of renewable energy, which we are all in favour of? Does the Minister of State agree that there are many other options, such as roofs of farm buildings, which could be used for solar panels, rather than turning good arable land into wasteland, if you will, in that it can never be used again for growing food, at a time when there may be food and forage scarcity.
We have made the existing and evolving planning system sufficiently robust with regard to large-scale solar developments. Through the revised national planning framework, the Government and the Oireachtas are allocating and integrating the regional spacial and economic strategies.
That in turn will inform city and county development plans and lead to the identification of large-scale solar energy development, which will be directed towards the most appropriate areas.
On the Deputy's more general point regarding the suitability of lands and types of development, there is a commitment to a land use review to ensure land use options are informed by factors relevant to Government decisions, including with regard to renewable energy projects. We want to see a plan-led approach to county development plans, which will now be extended through the revised planning and development Act that will be enacted for a period of ten years. There are no specific guidelines but there is more planning at the early stages.
Does the Minister of State agree a convenient grid connection will lead to many applications for solar farms at a particular location? As a result of that, a whole region could be converted into a super solar farm. Does the Minister of State agree there should be guidelines in place nationally to ensure this does not happen? If you live in an area with nothing but grey glass as far as the eye can see, surely that is not desirable, particularly when there are so many roofs of farm and community buildings all over the country that are sitting there waiting to be converted to this use.
Another issue in my part of the country is that these solar farms could lead to flooding because the soakage of water that flows off them is concentrated in rivulets which can cause flooding. My God, my town had its fair share of that this time last year. Time is running short in this Government's cycle, but I ask that the Department would have a serious look at this because it is growing very quickly
I support Deputy Stanton. There is a shared border between Cork North-Central and Cork East. My home parish of Knockraha is in Deputy Stanton's electoral area. That could become an epicentre for these, given there is a large substation in Knockraha. In surrounding areas like Leamlara and Lisgoold, in my part of the city and out to Carrignavar and Whitechurch, there will be application after application, and not just for small-scale solar farms. It will involve hundreds of hectares, potentially thousands, in the coming years.
I am a councillor since 2014 and we have been talking about the lack of guidelines since then. Here we are a decade later, saying the same things. The Minister of State is only in the door a relatively short time but we need to get serious about this because there are communities where this is a major blight on the landscape. Nobody doubts the need for solar farms but when some of the largest farmers in east Cork are selling large dairy farms for that purpose, we need to get real and get up to speed with things.
Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí. We have made recent changes to planning legislation to facilitate solar energy development. The Deputies might remember in October 2022 there was a significant enhancement of the existing provisions regarding planning exemptions for rooftop solar installations. That allowed the erection of solar panels on apartments and certain other buildings, including hospitals, libraries and workplaces, with certain conditions and limitations.
I will take the Deputies' points on board regarding individual solar energy developments. They are subject to statutory requirements within subsequent planning applications, determined at local level and subject to public participation. It is free and open to any consultees to make observations in regard to these developments. It is a reserved function for councillors to determine what suitability of a planning application should be assigned within the county development plan. We will look at this in the context of what is happening in Cork and I will talk to my officials in that regard.
65. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the immediate and urgent actions that will be taken to address the high levels of homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42665/24]
67. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken any study to determine the rate of homelessness among students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40067/24]
69. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 80 of 19 September 2024, the steps being taken to address the crisis in homelessness in Ireland, given that 14,486 people, including 4,419 children, were in need of emergency accommodation in August 2024; the steps planned to reduce the number of people in emergency accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42869/24]
What steps have been taken to address the crisis in homelessness? I will mention the figures again, though I think they are actually a little bit higher than this: 14,486 people, including 4,419 children, are in need of emergency accommodation. In Galway, there are no houses available under HAP and homeless services are at full capacity. I am not given to exaggeration; they are the facts in Galway city.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist seo. I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 , 67 and 69 together.
Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a priority for Government. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is increasing the supply of housing. Almost 12,000 new social homes were delivered in 2023, through build, acquisition and leasing, including 8,110 new-build homes, the highest level of new-build social homes in nearly 50 years. Including HAP and RAS, 21,733 social housing solutions were delivered throughout 2023.
Record State investment of over €5 billion has been made available this year to support the largest State home-building programme ever. Budget 2025 will provide €6 billion in capital to help us deliver more social, affordable and cost-rental homes for our people. Funding in 2024 is also supporting the tenant in situ scheme, with provision to acquire 1,500 homes where a social housing tenant has received a notice of termination due to the landlord's intention to sell the property. This scheme delivered 1,830 acquisitions in 2023 and was a key prevention measure. For private tenants at risk of homelessness who are not in receipt of social housing supports, the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme has also been introduced.
An allocation of €303 million, an increase of €61 million on the 2024 provision, has been made under budget 2025 to provide homelessness prevention services, emergency accommodation and other services for households experiencing homelessness. This is a 25% increase on the 2024 budget allocation. This funding will support the provision of emergency accommodation and supports that households require to exit emergency accommodation to a tenancy.
Housing for All also includes measures to enhance family support and prevention and early intervention services for children and their families through a multi-agency and co-ordinated response. Local authorities and their service delivery partners will work closely with all households in emergency accommodation to support them to secure an exit to a tenancy. With the significant increase in social housing stock, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has asked all local authorities to ensure that sufficient homes are being allocated to exit households from emergency accommodation.
I will come back in on a supplementary.
I thank the Minister of State for the response but I repeat that homeless services in Galway are at full capacity. When someone comes into our office and we ring up, we are told they are at full capacity. Will the Minister of State deal with that? I appreciate he has brought in measures. I appreciate the tenant in situ scheme. The problem is the housing policy is not fit for purpose. It is making the situation worse. We have a kaleidoscope of schemes that are keeping prices artificially high. HAP, long-term leasing and all of those schemes should be phased out. They are part of the problem.
Galway city has produced no affordable housing. I had the figures before me earlier. I hear the Minister has written to all local authorities on affordable housing schemes. There are none in Galway. The Simon report I referred to earlier told us there are no HAP properties available. I am attempting to keep calm and give the Minister of State the facts in the hope he will try to answer them.
The Deputy has raised the issue in Galway city on many occasions in the Dáil in recent years. Galway City Council is the housing authority and, through the ambition of the housing strategy, will be met with funding from Government. That has been the consistent approach we have taken with all local authorities.
Considerable progress is being made in addressing homelessness, particularly the work since 2022 giving us the capability to record preventions and exits separately. Quarter 4 2023 prevention figures represent significant increases on those for quarter 4 2022, with 91% more households, 100% more adults and 116% more families prevented from entering homelessness. That is significant progress. We are dealing with the dual challenge of an increasing population and trying to bring housing of all tenure types onstream at pace and scale.
Housing For All is working and it is making important interventions throughout the country. In some cases, homelessness is on the decrease.
Rebuilding Ireland has not worked. Housing For All has not worked. They are part of the problem. I spent 17 years at local authority level. We stopped building houses in 2009. It is on the record. Construction was suspended. We introduced HAP on a pilot basis and put it on a statutory footing in 2004. People were housed if they got a HAP property. Now there are no houses available at the HAP discretionary rates or ordinary rates. We have the insulting thing - I do not mean the person but the position - of a HAP finding officer. There is no HAP to be found. Will the Minister please read the Simon Communities reports, which it produces quarterly? I read from one to the Minister earlier. They are very easy to read. They are very succinct and give the key findings. There are no HAP properties in Galway. Homeless services are at capacity. There is nowhere for anyone to go. Earlier, I read out the details of a case of a young man with a six-month-old child in a hotel. To a certain extent he is lucky he is in a hotel. That is the homeless situation in Galway because of the policies. We have a task force which is not fit for purpose.
There is a problem to which the Deputy has referred. There is need for contact with the local authorities to try to ensure every opportunity is taken to prevent homelessness and not to impede the HAP system on top of everything else. People will become homeless very quickly when the tenancy has expired.
The intention and work of the Government is to end the dependency on HAP. A total of 16,000 families have transferred from HAP to permanent accommodation solutions. That is to be noted. The Government has built more social houses in the past four and a half years than in the past 50 years. I was a member of a local authority for 16 years. I remember distinctly during that time when a decision was made to move away from the construction of local authority housing and into reliance on the private market. I believe it was a retrograde step. That is why the Government and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, have set about addressing and undoing it. That is an important part of it.
I have the figures for the target builds for 2022 to 2026 for Galway City Council and Galway County Council. It is important that the local authorities show ambition. The funding is there. It is front-loaded and there in budget 2025. The local authority needs to show considerable ambition in the delivery of housing throughout Galway city.
We have time for one more question and response. Question No. 70 was taken with an earlier group of questions.
Question No. 72 has been answered.
Question No. 71 cannot be taken and Question No. 72 has been answered. The next question we can take is Question No. 80.
80. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing units delivered by the local authorities in Galway city and county in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; the targets in respect of each of those years for each local authority; the number of same that are new builds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42870/24]
This is a very specific question on the number of social housing units delivered by the local authorities in Galway city and council in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and the targets set in respect of them. Have the targets been achieved?
I will get Deputy Connolly more detail on this as I do not have the full supplementary reply. In 2022, the build target for Galway city was 305 and for Galway county the build target was 230. In 2023, the build target for the city was 219 and for Galway county it was 351. In 2020, the build target was 224 for Galway city and for Galway county the build target was 358. I do not have to hand the delivery target or what has been delivered against the target. I can certainly get that for Deputy Connolly.
There is strong delivery in County Galway. Two weeks ago, I was very pleased to sign off on the first affordable rental scheme in the south Connemara Gaeltacht, in Barna. There is also very strong delivery through the Croí Cónaithe grant scheme and with regard to social housing. There are a couple of projects with regard to affordable housing in Merlin that I have visited. They are not built yet and I would like to see them built. They should be built. I am frustrated with that. The affordable housing fund is there for local authorities to access. It is there and we have given approvals. I do not have the delivery information to hand. I will get it to Deputy Connolly tomorrow. It is not in the brief for the questions. I do not want to give an answer that is not correct. I will get the information to Deputy Connolly tomorrow.
I thank the Minister. That-----
Can I have one minute?
I appreciate the Minister will get back to me tomorrow. I read all of the task force minutes, although they were delivered late. I do my best to keep up. I am still waiting on the minutes of two meetings. They have never reached their targets. This is why the task force continues to sit, albeit under a new name. It has been sitting since 2018 because we had a housing emergency. It has repeatedly failed to deliver the targets. Galway has land and public housing should be built on it. This is not what is happening. It is simply not happening. We are getting grant schemes for the future with absolutely no hope of delivery in the foreseeable future. No affordable houses have been delivered. I ask the Minister to tell me if I am wrong and I will be the first to say sorry. Not one affordable housing has been built. Some of the schemes the Government visited in Connemara have not got off the ground. A holiday scheme was opened by a voluntary body and it never got off the ground.
I will respond very quickly because I have the height of regard for Deputy Connolly. I can point to local authorities throughout the country that are exceeding the housing targets we have set.
I am just talking about Galway.
I know that but we have to contrast and compare as well with regard to how some local authorities can deliver at scale while we need to support others that are not delivering at scale. I encourage all local authorities, which have more funding than they have ever had. That is why we will exceed social housing targets for new builds this year. We will exceed our affordable housing delivery this year. I am very anxious to see more homes built in the county and city of Galway. The LDA will be heavily involved, as Deputy Connolly knows, in Galway city. The housing authorities shoulder a lot of responsibility for delivery. It is not for the lack of funding at Government level. It is not for the lack of ambition but we need to see more delivery. Galway is the area represented by Deputy Connolly. We can compare and contrast delivery in Galway with comparable local authorities throughout the country.
That concludes Question Time.
