Social and Affordable Housing.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2005

Wednesday, 11 May 2005

Questions (235, 236)

Richard Bruton

Question:

279 Mr. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of persons purchasing dwellings under shared ownership both nationally and in each of the four Dublin local authorities during the period 1997 to 2005; the amount of rent subsidy awarded under the shared ownership scheme during this period; the number of applicants obtaining rent subvention; the income thresholds for qualifying for rent subvention; the income limit to qualify for a shared ownership loan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15684/05]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern)

The number of persons who purchased dwellings under the shared ownership scheme both nationally and in each of the four Dublin local authorities during the period 1997 to 2005 and the amount of subsidy and number of households obtaining rent subsidy are set out in the following table:

Year	Total National	Dublin City	Fingal	Dublin South	Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown	Amount of rent subsidy paid	No. of households in receipt of ongoing rent subsidy
						€
1997	1,042	294	123	160	11	624,973	1,414
1998	805	278	54	114	9	1,347,390	1,846
1999	1,314	539	45	306	36	1,241,882	1,981
2000	1,190	463	42	249	40	864,254	1,273
2001	1,611	468	20	400	30	1,156,776	1,502
2002	1,686	577	6	144	27	1,878,536	1,602
2003	998	358	2	41	16	1,757,979	1,356
2004	798	329	0	18	0	2,770,817	2,022
*1st Qtr 2005						354,605	431
	9,444	3,306	292	1,432	169	11,997,212	13,427

*The number of persons who purchased dwellings under the shared ownership scheme to date in 2005 is not available yet.

The qualifying income limit and the amount of rent subsidy available under the shared ownership scheme were revised in January 2002 for transactions completed on or after 1 January 2000 and are as follows:

Household Income per annum	Mortgage/Rent Subsidy payable per annum
€13,000 and under	€2,550
€13,001 to €15,500	€2,300
€15,501 to €18,000	€2,050
€18,001 to €20,500	€1,800
€20,501 to €23,000	€1,550
€23,001 to €25,500	€1,300
Over €25,500	Nil

I announced increases in the income limits for the shared ownership scheme in July 2004 together with an increase in the loan limit, in line with growth in average wage costs and house price inflation. The eligibility limit for applying for the scheme is now €36,800 for a single-income household. In the case of a two-income household, both incomes are assessed in determining eligibility on the basis of a formula whereby two and a half times the main income and once the second income cannot exceed €92,000. The terms and conditions of this scheme are being kept under review with the assistance of input, as appropriate, from the housing forum which has been charged under Sustaining Progress to review the effectiveness of all social and affordable housing programmes and in light of the NESC report was published just before the end of last year.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

280 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the percentage of the overall affordable housing initiative announced on 4 July 2003 which is planned for Magee Barracks, Kildare town; the location of the other affordable housing initiatives which are to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15694/05]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern)

I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 456 and 457 of 10 May 2005.

The commitment under the Sustaining Progress affordable housing initiative is to increase the supply of affordable housing by 10,000 units. It is proposed that a minimum of 350 affordable housing units will be provided on the former Magee Barracks site that was made available to the initiative, which works out at 3.5% of the overall total. To date, more than 70 projects on State and local authority lands are planned, which together with the projected 2,500 housing units under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2004, gives more than 10,000 housing units in total projected for delivery under the initiative. These projects are located in Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Meath, Sligo, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. In addition, housing units under the Part V arrangements are under way throughout the country.