Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020
329. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the options available for persons who do not qualify for social housing support but are not able to obtain a mortgage to purchase a home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18152/20]
View answer352. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if provision will be made for persons just over the threshold for social housing; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that an affordable house costing €350,000 is out of the reach of most ordinary families [18674/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 329 and 352 together.
This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that affordable, quality housing solutions are available to everyone in Irish society, and this is reflected in the Programme for Government, ‘Our Shared Future’. We will put affordability at the heart of the housing system through the progression of State-backed affordable housing. Affordable Purchase and Cost Rental homes will be delivered on State and public lands through a number of channels, including by local authorities and the Land Development Agency.
Under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF), €310 million has been allocated to provide infrastructure to support the delivery of more affordable homes on local authority lands. With a maximum of €50,000 funding available per home, at least 6,200 more affordable homes, to buy or rent, can be facilitated. To date, Serviced Sites Funding of €127 million has been approved in principle in support of 35 projects across 14 local authorities which have the capacity to deliver 3,200 more affordable homes. Details of these projects can be found at the following links;
https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-gives-the-go-ahead-for-ten-local-authority-sites-for-affordable-housing-under-the-serviced-sites-fund/
https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-approves-funding-of-e84m-to-support-delivery-of-1770-affordable-homes-under-the-ssf/.
The Programme for Government also commits to the development of a new Cost Rental sector in Ireland, whereby the rents charged will cover the cost of delivering, managing, and maintaining the homes only. The target cohort for Cost Rental has been defined as moderate-income households above the income limits for social housing supports.
A working group has been examining the most appropriate model for delivering Cost Rental, including the use of public land, appropriate Exchequer inputs, and operational matters such as tenant eligibility. I expect the initial findings of this group to be completed within the coming months, which will allow us to expand on three pilot developments currently being progressed in Enniskerry Road, Shangannagh and Emmet Road Dublin.
Other measures such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland Homeloan are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable. As part of the €7 billion July stimulus plan, my colleague the Minister for Finance recently confirmed an enhanced version of the Help-to-Buy scheme. This will allow first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home – or building one themselves – to claim back up to €30,000 in income tax paid and DIRT on bank deposit interest over the last four years. Full details of the Help to Buy initiative are available at https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/index.aspx.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage which is for first-time-buyers nationwide to purchase a new or second-hand home or to self-build. This scheme offers loans on competitive terms to those who are unable to secure a commercial bank loan. Full details of the scheme are available at http://rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie.
In terms of affordable housing more generally, I will outline my detailed plans in the Autumn, taking account of progress to date under the SSF, other measures and the input of key delivery partners.
