Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
21. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he will introduce a State-wide affordable housing scheme for local authorities; and the reason the €75 million allocated for Ó Cualann type affordable housing developments has not been made available to local authorities. [39021/18]
View answerIn terms of affordable housing for purchase, local authority sites can be progressed in accordance with the provisions of Part V of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009, which are now commenced. Affordable housing for rental can be pursued under the cost rental option being piloted on two sites in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dublin City Council.
€75 million of Exchequer funding is being provided under the Serviced Sites Fund to provide enabling infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of affordable homes on local authority and Housing Agency sites. The focus is on areas where increasing house prices and rents have created a significant affordability gap for first-time buyers and for those wishing to rent, those being Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth, Galway City, Cork City and Cork County. With the local authority contribution, €100 million will be allocated in total under the Fund. The maximum grant per site is €40,000 and, on this basis, there is scope to provide grant funding for at least 2,500 affordable homes under the Fund.
A call for proposals issued under the Fund on 29 June 2018, with a closing date for receipt of submissions of 31 August. Nine local authorities have submitted a total of fifteen proposals under this first call, and these are currently being assessed in my Department. We are working toward completing the assessments and awarding funding next month.
