I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 42 and 43 together.
Housing affordability has been examined by my Department, in consultation with the Housing Agency, local authorities and other stakeholders as part of the targeted review of Rebuilding Ireland. The examination was carried out under the generally accepted premise that housing is deemed affordable where households, particularly low or moderate income households, are paying no more than a third of their disposable income on meeting their accommodation needs.
The work took account of the measures already taken to make housing more affordable. These include the streamlined planning system for large-scale housing developments; reduced development contributions; the €226 million LIHAF funding, the impact of Rent Pressure Zones and changes to apartment guidelines in 2015.
It also took account of the additional housing affordability measures contained in Budget 2018. As announced, there will be a second phase of the LIHAF infrastructure fund with an Exchequer contribution of €50 million to unlock additional lands for housing. I also secured funding to put in place a new serviced sites fund of €25 million specifically to deliver affordable housing on local authority sites. The new Home Building Finance Ireland fund is also of importance in terms of addressing the costs of delivering housing as it will provide finance at commercially competitive rates to developers.
The review is now at an advanced stage and I expect to be in a position to outline the outcome, including any additional measures, in the coming weeks.