Written Answers Nos. 541-560
541. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of units of accommodation that returned to the housing assistant payment, HAP, system subsequently from each of four categories that is, tenant-led exits, compliance exits, transfers to other forms of social housing and landlord exits (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28688/18]
View answerHousing Assistance Payment (HAP) supported tenancies are agreed between the landlord and the tenant; the local authority is not a party to the tenancy and has no role in its agreement. There is no limitation placed by the scheme on the length of tenancy that can be supported by HAP. However, as with other private rental tenancies, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) governs the relationship between landlord and tenant and the length of the tenancy is a matter that must be agreed between the landlord and tenant in that context.
At the end of Q1 2018 a total of 5,938 households were reported as having exited HAP: this included tenant led exits; compliance exits; transfers to other forms of social housing; and landlord exits. This report is based on cessations as submitted by local authorities. Reasons for cessations are typically provided by the tenant and/or landlord.
The following table details the number of property re-entries into HAP under each of the 4 exit categories:
Property Re-entries into HAP
|
Tenant led exits |
527 |
|
Compliance exits |
163 |
|
Transfers to other forms of social housing |
232 |
|
Landlord exits |
216 |
|
Total |
1,138 |
In cases where a HAP supported tenancy comes to an end, the tenant can find alternative accommodation and retain their eligibility for HAP support or the local authority may decide to offer another form of social housing support to the tenant in accordance with their scheme of letting priorities.
542. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the reason long-term tenants with a proven rental record who do not need a council loan to purchase a home and are in a position to partly finance the purchase are being discriminated against in view of the fact they do not fit the eligibility criteria under the tenant purchases incremental scheme. [28694/18]
View answer543. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the tenant purchase incremental scheme will be reviewed to permit fairness and equal opportunity to all council tenants. [28695/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 542 and 543 together.
The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.
The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the scheme is determined by the relevant local authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the 2014 Act. In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, local authorities include income from a number of different sources and classes, such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.
In determining reckonable income, the income of all tenants of the house, including adult children that are joint tenants, is included, as is the income of the spouse, civil partner or other partner/co-habitant of a tenant who lives in the house with them, thus ensuring the appropriate level of discount is applied to the purchase price.
The terms of the Scheme involve discounts of 40%, 50% or 60% off the purchase price of the house, linked to the tenant’s reckonable annual income. On the sale of a house under the Scheme, the local authority will place an incremental purchase charge on the house equivalent to the discount granted to the tenant. Generally, the charge withers away over a period of 20, 25 or 30 years depending on the level of discount involved, as set out in the following table.
|
Reckonable Annual Income |
Discount |
Charge period |
|
Between €15,000 and €20,000 |
60% |
30 years |
|
Between €20,001 and €29,999 |
50% |
25 years |
|
€30,000 or more |
40% |
20 years |
The minimum income criterion was introduced in order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme. Applicants must demonstrate that they have an income that is long-term and sustainable in nature. This ensures that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period, in compliance with the conditions of the order transferring the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant.
The financing of any house sold under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is a separate matter from the eligibility criteria for the scheme. If the tenant is deemed eligible under the scheme, he or she may fund the purchase of a house from one, or a combination, of his/her own resources or a mortgage provided by a financial institution or a local authority house purchase loan.
In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland, a review of the first 12 months of the Scheme’s operation has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process which took place in 2017 and saw submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.
The review is now complete and a full report has been prepared setting out findings and recommendations. In finalising the report some further consultation was necessary and due consideration had to be given to possible implementation arrangements. These matters are now almost completed and I expect to be in a position to publish the outcome of the review shortly.
544. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28696/18]
View answerMy Department recently received an application from Sligo County Council for pre-tender approval in respect of the development referred to. The project has been assessed and approval to proceed to tender has issued to the Council.
545. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the progress being made to develop affordable homes and affordability schemes for those who find it difficult to access the housing market. [28721/18]
View answerUnder the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government's commitment to an ambitious delivery agenda in relation to social housing is clear and substantial progress continues to be made to expand the social housing programme very significantly from a virtual standstill position a number of years ago.
As Minister, I have been clear that we also need to address issues of housing affordability, recognising the pressures that exist for low-to middle-income households, particularly in Dublin and certain other of our main urban centres.
In order to underpin progress in this area, I have now commenced the relevant provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, the effect of which is to place the new scheme for affordable purchase on a statutory footing. From engagements with the local authorities in Dublin, the wider Greater Dublin Area, as well as Cork and Galway cities, their initial estimates suggest that they have lands with the potential to deliver some 4,000 new affordable homes. My Department is continuing to work with the key local authorities and the Housing Agency to identify sites which would see the level of ambition increase to at least 10,000 new affordable homes from local authority owned land, and that analysis is progressing well.
I am also determined that cost rental homes become a major part of our rental landscape in the future. It is clear that there is a gap between social housing and the rental market that needs to be filled, making a sustainable impact on housing affordability, national competitiveness, and the attractiveness of our main urban centres as places to live and work.
The Housing Agency, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and a number of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) have been working to get our first cost rental pilot, at Enniskerry Road, ready for tenders to issue shortly. In parallel, Dublin City Council, my Department and the National Development Finance Agency are undertaking detailed modelling and financial appraisal on a major site, at St. Michael’s Estate in Inchicore, to assess its suitability for a significant cost rental development. The work of that multi-disciplinary team is progressing well and should be concluded shortly.
In order to support local authorities to get their sites ready for affordable housing, I have decided to provide additional funding for enabling infrastructure via the Serviced Sites Fund. Given that housing-related infrastructure will now be able to avail of funding under the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, I am redirecting the €50 million funding for Phase 2 of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund to the Serviced Sites Fund, increasing the scale of the fund from the previously announced €25 million to €75 million. When local authority co-funding is included, an overall minimum investment of €100 million will be provided to those sites that require infrastructural investment in order for them to be brought into use for affordable housing. The call for proposals under the Serviced Site Fund issued last week.
546. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the annual expenditure on commercial archaeology services in his Department by provider in each of the years 2013 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28749/18]
View answerDetails of my Department's expenditure on commercial archaeology services in the period 2013-17 and to date in 2018 are set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Provider |
Amount € |
|
2018 |
Nil |
|
|
2017 |
John Purcell Archaeology |
2,600 |
|
2017 |
Hayes Higgins Partnership/Shanarc |
4,050 |
|
2017 |
Hayes Higgins Partnership/Dr. Maurice Hurley |
7,315 |
|
2016 |
- |
Nil |
|
2015 |
- |
Nil |
|
2014 |
- |
Nil |
|
2013 |
Munster Archaeology |
23,031 |
547. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the funding opportunities for local authorities to apply for funds to complete unfinished housing estates; and the details of same. [28789/18]
View answer572. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the role of local authorities in securing site resolution for agreement and implementation on unfinished housing estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29209/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 547 and 572 together.
In March of this year, my Department published the 2017 Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments, which are regarded as developments not substantially complete in the context of the scope of works envisaged under the relevant planning permission. The report is available on my Department's website at the following link: 2017 Annual Progress Report
As outlined in that Report, the number of unfinished housing developments has reduced by 91% from around 3,000 developments in 2010 to 256 developments in 2017. In addition, the Report shows that 74% of local authority areas now contain less than 10 unfinished developments, with four local authority areas having no occupied unfinished developments.
The number of developments, and dwellings, deemed as 'unfinished' was recorded as part of the 2017 National Housing Developments Survey and figures at a county level are available at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/final_national_figures_by_county.xls.
A National Taking-in-Charge Initiative (NTICI) was introduced to develop more streamlined systems and procedures in relation to the taking-in-charge process. In Budget 2014, this was supported by a once-off provision of a €10 million Special Resolution Fund (SRF) to pilot and trial new approaches, which will be documented in a report on the NTICI that I intend to publish later this Summer.
Funding of the resolution and taking-in-charge process is now firmly centred on investment by housing providers and their funders, as well as income from bonds and securities. In view of the progress made within a predominantly housing provider, funder and local authority enforcement driven resolution process, the relatively small cohort of unfinished developments remaining and the scope for investment to resolve such developments in a recovering housing sector context, I have no current plans to allocate additional public funds in relation to unfinished developments.
Local authorities will continue to assess the best options for resolution for the remaining unfinished developments and provide consultation and support for residents, developers and financial institutions. They will continue to use their powers under the various Acts and legal instruments available to them and my Department will continue to provide oversight and assistance to the local authorities in carrying out these duties.
548. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of land owned and available for housing for each approved housing body; his views on the total land available; when houses will be built on these lands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28804/18]
View answer549. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of available land owned by each local authority suitable for housing purposes in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28805/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together.
Developing the State land bank for housing is a key priority for this Government. Importantly, we have large sites in Dublin, Cork and other key urban areas where housing and homelessness pressures are greatest. We now have a very good picture of all local authority residential lands and authorities have well developed plans for many of their sites. Details of some 1,700 hectares of residential land in local authority and Housing Agency ownership are available to view and access on the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map, at the following link:
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-land-map/ .
My Department does not hold data on lands owned by Approved Housing Bodies (AHB). The oversight of AHBs is currently conducted through the Voluntary Regulation Code (VRC), Building for the Future, A Voluntary Regulation Code for Approved Housing Bodies in Ireland, which is available at the following link: https://www.housingagency.ie/Regulation/The-Code.pdf.
At present, 245 AHBs are signed up to the VRC which is overseen by the Interim Regulation Committee (IRC), based in the Housing Agency. While annual regulatory returns for the AHBs which are signed up to the Code are submitted to the Housing Agency's Regulation Office, I understand that the Regulation Office does not, as a matter of course, collect detailed data on the land owned by AHBs.
In terms of housing delivery, backed by €6 billion in Exchequer funding, significant progress is being made in ramping up the social housing programme. At the end of 2017, there were 13,400 social housing homes in the construction programme, up substantially on the 8,500 homes in the programme just a year earlier, and this continues to grow on a weekly basis.
In addition, Dublin local authorities are bringing forward major sites for mixed-tenure development such as the 900 homes at Kilcarbery in Clondalkin, where procurement will be finalised in the Autumn, and O’Devaney Gardens, a 600-home site in the City Council area where the procurement process is moving into competitive dialogue stage and should be finalised in early 2019. Proposals for other key sites across Dublin are also being developed.
I have commenced the statutory provisions for the new affordable purchase scheme. Early indications from the key local authorities identified lands for 4,000 affordable homes and we are working to identify suitable lands through which the ambition can be increased to 10,000 homes. In order to support local authorities to get their sites ready for affordable housing, I have also issued the call for proposals under the €75 million Serviced Sites Fund for enabling infrastructure on local authority land for the facilitation of affordable housing.
The development of the local authority land bank for social and affordable housing will be a key theme at the Third Housing Summit with Local Authority Chief Executives taking place today.
550. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of an application for a group sewerage scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28812/18]
View answerThe Multi-annual Rural Water Programme was established under my Department to run for the period 2016 to 2018. It was developed through a working group of key stakeholders involving local authorities, the Water Services Transition Office, Irish Water, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes as well as my Department. The programme provides for the funding of demonstration Group Sewerage Schemes, through Measure 4(d), where clustering of households on individual septic tanks is not a viable option, particularly from an environmental perspective.
Local authorities were invited in January 2016 to submit bids under the programme. Milltownpass Village Group Sewerage Scheme was not included by Westmeath County Council in their bids for inclusion in the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme.
My Department is currently addressing the recommendations contained in the April 2017 report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services as they relate to the rural water sector. In this regard, in April 2018, I established a Working Group to conduct a wider review of the investment needs of rural water services. In addition to my Department, the Working Group comprises: the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Health Service Executive, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes and the County and City Management Association.
The Working Group, which has met twice to date, is considering how best to position and resource water services in rural areas so that they can contribute further to the development and long-term sustainability of a comprehensive and cohesive rural water sector that will have the capacity to produce quality outcomes comparable to those available to customers of public water services.
The terms of reference of the review provide that there will be a two-strand approach to the considerations of the Working Group. Strand 1 will consider the composition and distribution of funding for the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme from 2019 up to 2021, while Strand 2 will consider the more complex longer-focus issues surrounding the long-term future resourcing of the rural water sector. It is intended that by the end of July the Working Group will produce a summary report on Strand 1 of its deliberations which will outline the rationale for funding priorities for the next cycle of the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme up to 2021.
Having regard to the outcome of the review, and decisions to be taken on measures to be included in the programme from 2019 to 2021, applications will be invited from local authorities in respect of funding for that period.
551. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of buy and renew units delivered in past 12 months; and the average cost for each unit. [28876/18]
View answerIn 2017, there were 70 housing units delivered through the buy and renew scheme. When the cost of necessary repairs are taken into account, the average cost per unit is expected to be some €200,000.
Data in relation to 2018 delivery is not yet available as it is being validated and will be published in due course.
552. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the details of the €70 million rolling Housing Agency fund; the number of units delivered in the past 12 months; and the average cost for each unit. [28877/18]
View answerUnder Actions 1.1, 2.5 and 5.6 of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Housing Agency is actively engaged with banks and investment companies in relation to its acquisitions programme. An Acquisitions Fund of €70m, which is a revolving fund, has been established with the objective of acquiring some 1,600 homes over the period to 2020 for social housing use.
Since the Fund was established, the Agency has had bids accepted on 645 properties. Contracts have been signed for 454 units and 404 of these purchases have closed. The process of selling properties on to Approved Housing Bodies is underway. Since the Fund was established, the Agency has signed purchase option agreements for 238 properties with Approved Housing Bodies and these units are now under Caretaker Leases. To date, the onward sale of 132 units to AHBs have been completed in full and the Agency has received €27.7m from AHBs for these units. The average cost per unit of the homes purchased to date is €178,651.
553. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of Traveller specific units of accommodation delivered in the past 12 months; and the average cost for each unit. [28878/18]
View answerTraveller-specific projects and developments are focused on group housing schemes and halting sites. This includes meeting Traveller-specific housing needs through a range of mechanisms, including the provision of mobiles and caravans; the provision and refurbishment of halting sites and bays within sites; the refurbishment and extension of existing group housing; the return to use of void group housing; and the provision of new group housing.
The number of housing solutions funded under the Traveller Accommodation Budget in 2017 are set out below. Output figures for 2018 are not yet available.
In 2017, €4.835 million was spent on Traveller accommodation; of this, €232,516 was spent on fire safety works, with the remaining funding supporting 200 housing solutions as follows:
Housing
|
Group housing |
4 |
|
Emergency mobiles |
20 |
|
Caravan grants |
28 |
|
Special Grant * |
1 |
|
Refurbishment/Extensions |
146 |
|
Halting Site Bay |
1 |
*recoupment to local authorities of a special grant of 10% of the cost up to a maximum of €640 to Traveller families who are purchasing a caravan for the first time.
554. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the cost per unit of a development (details supplied). [28879/18]
View answerI understand that, working with Dublin City Council, AIB and industry professionals, Ó Cualann Co-Housing Alliance delivered new 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom, A2-rated, quality homes with sales prices ranging from €140,000 to €220,000. These 19 homes comprise the first phase of a 49-unit development in Poppintree, Ballymun, with the remaining 30 homes to be delivered shortly.
An additional site, also located in Ballymun, is to be developed by Ó Cualann, and will provide 39 homes, at prices ranging from €176,000 to €259,000, with Dublin City Council making the site available on the same terms as Poppintree.
Importantly, in order for Ó Cualann to be in a position to provide homes within this price range, Dublin City Council provided fully serviced sites at €1,000 per unit, as well as waiving development contributions and planning fees. Taking the foregoing into account, the total per unit investment by Dublin City Council was in the region of €58,000 per house, thereby facilitating the affordable delivery and ultimate lower sale prices of the homes.
In order to support local authorities to get their sites ready for affordable housing, I am providing additional funding for enabling infrastructure via the Serviced Sites Fund. Given that housing-related infrastructure will now be able to seek funding under the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, I am redirecting the €50 million funding, originally earmarked for a further call under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund, to the Serviced Sites Fund, increasing the scale of the Fund from the previously announced €25 million to €75 million. When local authority co-funding is included, an overall minimum investment of €100 million will be available to offset the costs of providing both on-site and off-site enabling infrastructure for sites in order for them to be brought into use for affordable housing.
The call for proposals under this competitive-bid Fund has now issued and I expect to make funding announcements in September.
555. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the supports which have been put in place to assist first-time buyers of second-hand properties specifically; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28880/18]
View answerThe main support that has been put in place by the Government to assist first-time buyers is the Help to Buy Initiative, which is operated by the Revenue Commissioners on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Finance. As one of the policy aims of this scheme was to incentivise the construction of additional housing units, it is aimed solely at new-build and self-build properties.
For first-time buyers who are having difficulty in accessing finance through a commercial lender, they may be able to qualify for mortgage finance under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. This scheme was launched on 1 February 2018 following a review of the two existing local authority home loan schemes, the House Purchase Loan and the Home Choice Loan.
The new loan enables creditworthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range. The low rate of fixed interest associated with the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan provides first-time buyers with access to mortgage finance that they may not otherwise have been able to afford at a higher interest rate.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is targeted at first-time buyers who wish to own their own home, have access to an adequate deposit and have the capacity to repay a mortgage, but who are unable to access a mortgage sufficient for them to purchase their first home. As with the previous local authority loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available to first-time buyers only. This is to ensure the effective targeting of limited resources.
Full details of the loan’s eligibility criteria and other information is available from the dedicated Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan website http://rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie/.
556. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of charging ports and parking bays for electric vehicles at his Department building and other buildings used by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28895/18]
View answerOther than at airports and aerodromes, there are no parking bays for electric vehicles at any building used by my Department. There is, however, one eCar charging point at the Custom House currently. My Department’s Workplace Travel Plan (WTP) aims to encourage greater staff use of sustainable transport options when travelling to and from work, and to ensure that, where practicable, staff opt for sustainable transport options when conducting business on behalf of the Department. My Department will keep the matter under review as the use of electric cars increases.
557. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government further Parliamentary Question No. 1590 of 17 April 2018, the status of the report of the working group on short-term lets submitted to his Department; and when a targeted public consultation will be initiated on its proposals. [28909/18]
View answerFurther to my reply to Question No. 1590 of 17 April 2018, and arising from the detailed analysis by the Working Group which informed the development of a range of proposals to establish an appropriate comprehensive regulatory approach for short-term tourism-related lettings as well as identifying amendments to relevant legislation to give effect to such a regulatory regime, I am continuing to review the Group's report. I am also examining the recommendations from the Oireachtas committee's report on short-term lettings, with a view to bringing proposals to Government for decision in relation to future actions in this area.
558. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if Cork city will be considered as a possible location for the establishment of a new national regeneration and development agency as provided for in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 (details supplied); when the new agency will be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28946/18]
View answer566. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he or his departmental officials have discussed the location of the national regeneration agency that was committed to in the National Development Plan 2018-2027; if a process has or will be entered into; if so, the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29026/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 558 and 566 together.
Project Ireland 2040, published in February 2018, signals a significant policy shift towards securing more compact and sustainable urban and rural development, which requires significantly more effective land management in key development areas. Against that background, it is proposed to establish a National Regeneration and Development Agency to assist in ensuring a more effective approach to strategic land management, particularly in terms of publicly owned land.
The Agency will act as a national centre of expertise, working with and supporting local authorities, public bodies and other interests, to harness public lands as catalysts to stimulate regeneration and wider investment and to achieve compact, sustainable growth, with a particular emphasis on complex regeneration projects and the provision of affordable housing.
Detailed arrangements in relation to the functions, powers and mechanisms and legislative arrangements for the establishment of the Agency are currently being developed by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with a view to their early finalisation. The current work in this area will inform the functions, resource needs, budgetary requirements and location of the Agency.
559. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the position in relation to a mortgage to rent application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28964/18]
View answerThe Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs themselves. In addition, the household must be deemed eligible for social housing support.
I am not in a position to comment on any particular case nor would it be appropriate for me to do so. The reasons why a case may not have progressed are varied and can depend on the lender, the property or the circumstances of the particular household. If MTR is an option, it is a matter for the borrower to discuss this with their lender, who will provide all the documentation to apply for the scheme. If MTR is not an option, it will be a matter for the borrower to discuss with their lender if there are other options available to resolve their mortgage arrears situation.
The Abhaile service, formally launched by the Government in 2016, is a national mortgage arrears resolution service, provided free of charge to the borrower and its aim is to help mortgage holders in arrears to find the best solutions and keep them, wherever possible, in their own homes. The unique element of Abhaile is that it brings together, for the first time, the full range of supports and services required by borrowers in home mortgage arrears. A dedicated adviser will work with the borrower and their lender to find the best solution for their particular situation. The Money Advice and Budgetary Service (MABS) acts as the gateway for the service and can be contacted by telephoning (076)1072000 or by accessing their website at: www.mabs.ie/abhaile.
560. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of funding provided to Kerry County Council in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for the improvement works in lieu scheme; the number of applications Kerry County Council received in each of those years; the number of applications approved for funding in each of those years; the average grant allocation in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28965/18]
View answerThere was no funding requested by Kerry County Council in respect of the Improvement Works in Lieu scheme in 2016, 2017 or 2018.
The detailed administration of these grants, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of applications is the responsibility of the local authorities and my Department does not keep data in relation to the applications under this scheme as this is a matter for Kerry County Council.
