Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 May 2017
182. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason for introducing an affordable rental scheme rather than an affordable housing scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21133/17]
View answerA range of measures are being taken under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness to increase housing supply overall, with the aim of creating a functioning and sustainable housing system which can meet housing demand at more affordable prices.
The plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system. Pillar 3, entitled Build More Homes, has a key objective of increasing the output of private housing to meet demand at affordable prices.
Action 4.6 of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan provided for the introduction of an affordable rental scheme to enhance the capacity of the private rented sector to provide quality and affordable accommodation for households currently paying a disproportionate amount of disposable income on rent. As set out in the Strategy for the Rental Sector published in December 2016, the commitment on affordable rental is to be progressed through kick-starting supply in rent pressure zones. Lands held by local authorities in rent pressure zones are to be brought to market on a competitive tendering basis, with a view to leveraging the value of the land to deliver the optimum number of units for rent, targeting middle income households, in mixed tenure developments. The cost of providing rental units is to be permanently reduced by lowering the initial investment and development costs for providers - AHB or private - allowing the rental units to be made available at below market prices without the need for ongoing rental subsidies.
In this regard, an important policy intervention in the delivery of new housing supply under Pillar 3 of Rebuilding Ireland is the development of State-owned lands for mixed-tenure housing, particularly in the major urban areas, where demand is greatest. On 27 April 2017, I published details of some 2,000 hectares of land in public ownership, which has the potential to deliver up to 50,000 homes nationally. Full details of these sites can be accessed on the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-land-map/.
I have asked all local authorities to be innovative and proactive in developing these sites. The final model for each site will be the subject of careful consideration by the local authority concerned, the elected members included, who are best placed to know and provide for the housing need in their area. Indeed, the Dublin local authorities are well advanced in bringing large-scale sites forward for mixed tenure housing, with projects advertised that can deliver circa 3,000 mixed-tenure homes in the Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council areas alone.
