Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 November 2021
278. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable houses provided by or through the aegis of each local authority by county in each of the past six years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55421/21]
View answerThe Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system.
A multi-faceted approach is being implemented to deliver 54,000 affordable homes interventions between now and 2030. This will be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency, as well as through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks. The first local authority affordable purchase homes delivered under the Serviced Sites Fund will be delivered in December 2021. To date, funding for approximately 4,000 affordable purchase homes has been awarded to local authorities nationally under the Serviced Sites/Affordable Housing Fund..
Delivery of affordable housing in accordance with the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme established in Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 will be underpinned by the preparation by each local authority's Housing Delivery Action Plan. All homes made available under affordable housing schemes must adhere to eligibility criteria prescribed under the Act.
Local authorities will be submitting their Plans to me, to include social and affordable housing, before the end of December 2021. This will allow each Local Authority, to determine any affordability constraint in their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment and plan the provision of affordable homes accordingly.
Part 4 of the Affordable Housing Act provides for the ‘First Home’ scheme to primarily support affordability-constrained first-time buyers to purchase privately developed new homes. This scheme will commence in 2022 and will be available at a national level.
Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act provides for the establishment of a Cost Rental sector in Ireland, through the Ministerial designation of Cost Rental dwellings. Budget 2021 allocated €35 million to the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme which enabled the first Cost Rental homes to be delivered this year by the Clúid AHB at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan. The tenanting processes for further Cost Rental homes at Enniskerry Road in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Barnhall, Leixlip, County Kildare, are currently underway. In total, 390 Cost Rental units will be delivered through this funding, with the initial focus being in the Greater Dublin Area and Cork. A further €75 million was allocated in Budget 2022 to help meet the Housing for All target of 750 Cost Rental homes in 2022.
The Land Development Agency will deliver homes for both affordable purchase and Cost Rental. The Housing for All strategy outlines how the Land Development Agency through Project Tosaigh will seek to unlock stalled developments and accelerate the delivery of affordable homes.
In addition the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home loan scheme remain available nationally and make housing more affordable to purchasers.
