Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020
331. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of affordable houses he plans to deliver by year in County Monaghan over the course of the Programme for Government; and if he will provide his definition of affordable. [18266/20]
View answerThe statutory basis for the delivery of affordable housing for purchase in the State is Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Whilst there is no universally applicable definition of affordability, the legislation provides for this assessment by considering whether the mortgage repayments on a home that meets the accommodation needs of a household would exceed 35% of that household's net income.
To support the delivery of more affordable homes, under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF), €310 million is available to provide facilitating infrastructure 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 in 14 local authority areas, which will assist in the delivery of almost 3,200 affordable homes.
All SSF proposals are considered on the basis of economic analyses submitted by local authorities. These are undertaken to confirm affordability challenges in a given area, project viability, and the ability to deliver affordable homes with at least a 10% discount on open market values.
Whilst an economic assessment was submitted to my Department by Monaghan County Council in December 2018, it did not indicate that affordability was a significant problem in the local authority area at that time.
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.
