The development of major local authority residential sites in Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), where under supply and the greatest affordability issues are being experienced, is a major priority for the Government.
In the first instance, it is a matter for each local authority and its elected members to agree the optimal approach to development and financing of its land bank, including the viability of sites for development. Notwithstanding this, my Department has been working closely with all local authorities, including local authorities in the GDA, to ensure that new social and affordable homes can be delivered from the public land bank, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the greatest potential to deliver housing at scale, in the short to medium term.
In terms of the strategic development of the State’s residential land bank, all local authority sites have been mapped on the Rebuilding Ireland land map. The map includes details of over 700 local authority and Housing Agency owned sites amounting to some 1,700 hectares including the land owned by local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area and is available at the following link:
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-land-map/.
All local authorities are being funded to significantly increase their delivery of social housing, as part of the Rebuilding Ireland programme, and a strong social housing construction pipeline is already in place for local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies. A detailed breakdown of the social housing construction programme for all local authorities is set out in the Social Housing Construction Status Report, which is published on a quarterly basis. The report covering the period up to end Quarter 4 of 2018 is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link:
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphypublishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-for-q4-2018.
Further projects will continue to be added to the programme on an ongoing basis.
In terms of affordable housing, a targeted approach is being pursued to support local authorities. Significant housing delivery is to be achieved through the Serviced Site Fund (SSF), where €310 million has been allocated to support the delivery of at least 6,200 affordable homes over the next three years. An initial 8 projects across the GDA, listed in the table below, were among 10 projects, with the potential for 1,400 affordable homes, which have been approved for €43 million of funding under the first call for proposals. The first homes are expected to be delivered next year. A second call for proposals under the SSF has now also issued.
Table: List of projects in the GDA that have received approval in principle under the SSF first call for proposals.
|
LA
|
Project Description
|
Total Provisional Cost of Proposal - €
|
Provisional Exchequer Grant Amount - €
|
Provisional LA Contribution - €
|
Affordable Housing Potential
|
|
Dublin City
|
Cherry Orchard
|
€7,645,415
|
€6,804,419
|
€840,996
|
183
|
|
Dublin City
|
Balbutcher, Ballymun
|
€4,135,351
|
€3,680,462
|
€454,889
|
74
|
|
Dublin City
|
Sillogue, Ballymun
|
€3,975,000
|
€3,537,750
|
€437,250
|
83
|
|
DLR
|
Enniskerry Road
|
€4,537,576
|
€4,038,443
|
€499,133
|
50
|
|
Fingal
|
Church Fields, Mulhuddart
|
€11,000,000
|
€9,790,000
|
€1,210,000
|
753
|
|
Fingal
|
Dun Emer, Lusk
|
€1,500,000
|
€1,335,000
|
€165,000
|
74
|
|
Fingal
|
Hackettstown, Skerries
|
€2,198,667
|
€1,956,814
|
€241,853
|
49
|
|
Total
|
|
€34,992,009
|
€31,142,888
|
€3,849,121
|
1,266
|
My Department will continue to engage proactively with the local authorities to accelerate the delivery of these projects. The combination of this Fund and the significantly increased funding for the social housing programme will open up more opportunities for larger mixed-tenure developments on key sites such as O’Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road in Dublin.
Acknowledging that renters in Dublin are currently facing significant access and affordability challenges, the Government is also committed to the introduction of a not-for-profit, cost rental sector in Ireland. Cost Rental is a model of delivery where the provider supplies accommodation and charges rents sufficient to cover both the cost of provision and ongoing operational expenses. Two pathfinder pilot projects in the former St. Michael's Estate Inchicore and Enniskerry Road will deliver 380 cost rental homes and the experience gained from these projects will inform a national approach to cost rental and its delivery at scale.
