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Social and Affordable Housing

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2020

Wednesday, 7 October 2020

Questions (92)

Richard Bruton

Question:

92. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he plans issuing guidelines on the eligible income thresholds and other national criteria for affordable purchase and for cost rental schemes in respect of which many councils have already set the other criteria for prioritising applicants. [29165/20]

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Written answers

This Government is 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". The Programme commits to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system through the progression of State-backed affordable housing.

Part of the Government's fulfilment of this commitment is the implementation of Cost Rental housing in Ireland. Cost Rental is intended for a target cohort of households with incomes above the limits for social housing provision, who are currently facing inflated rent levels in the private sector. Cost Rental is not intended to replace or overlap with traditional social housing, which remains a priority for this Government. The precise eligibility conditions for Cost Rental are being developed and will be set in advance of the completion of the first Cost Rental projects.

Concerning affordable purchase, in advance of finalising the remaining Regulations required to make the local authority led Affordable Purchase Dwelling Arrangements fully operational and before the first affordable homes come on stream in early 2021, I have instructed my officials to review the provisions to ensure they remain fit for purpose. The current arrangements for this scheme are set out in Part 5 of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009, which contains provisions in relation to eligibility (including the income grounds) and the order of priority under which affordable dwellings to be made available by or through local authorities.

In terms of affordable housing more generally, I will outline my detailed plans in the near future, taking account of progress to date under the SSF and the input of key delivery partners.

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