Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 November 2020
353. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of funding under the affordable housing scheme that will be allocated to County Mayo in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38502/20]
View answerBudget 2021 made available total funding of €3.3 billion for the delivery of housing programmes. Of that sum, €468 million will be specifically provided to support housing affordability measures. This includes the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF), the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan and the Land Development Agency (LDA).
In relation to the delivery of more affordable homes to purchase or rent by local authorities, the Serviced Sites Fund is available to support the cost of facilitating infrastructure on local authority sites. The purpose of the SSF is specifically targeted at those local authorities where an affordability challenge has been clearly identified and where the provision of affordable homes is economically viable. To support this process, local authorities were invited to submit economic assessments and Mayo County Council indicated, at that time, that the delivery of affordable housing at 10% below open market value was not considered economically viable. Should that situation change, the Department is happy to consider updated economic assessment from local authorities.
In addition to the Services Sites Fund, Budget 2021 ring fenced €75 million for a new national Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme. I intend to target the scheme at first time buyers, who are seeking to buy a new home in private developments but who cannot quite secure the full mortgage amount to do so at the present time. Subject to the final qualifying criteria, the scheme would see the State take a limited equity stake in a property, in order to help more people meet the cost of buying a new home with their available mortgage. To this end, significant preparatory work has already been carried out by my Department working primarily with the Housing Agency and the Department of Finance. I intend to introduce this scheme in 2021, and intensive engagement continues with key stakeholders to inform the final detailed parameters of the scheme, as well as with home builders to seek to increase the output of new homes in response to the new scheme.
Other measures such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable. As part of the €7 billion July stimulus plan, an enhanced version of the Help-to-Buy scheme was announced, which Budget 2021 has extended to December 2021. This will allow first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home – or building one themselves – to claim back up to €30,000 paid in income tax 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.
