Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 March 2022
208. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on plans to ensure local authorities such as Mayo County Council will increase housing delivery in particular by increasing the supply of affordable housing measures and schemes to assist purchasers to meet the costs of newly-constructed homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12124/22]
View answerThe Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing.
Delivery of affordable housing, in accordance with the schemes set out in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021 and the funding being made available will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Local authorities submitted their Plans to me in December 2021. This allowed each local authority to assess the level of need for affordable housing in their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment and plan provision accordingly.
Many rural counties may have pockets of unaffordability, as opposed to county-wide need for affordable housing. The development of schemes in key towns where prices are higher and affordable need is concentrated may be considered and applications can be made for supports under the Affordable Housing Fund.
The First Home scheme will be up and running by the middle of this year nationwide. It will improve access to newly-built homes, below the median price point, by using a shared equity model to bridge the gap between mortgage finance and the cost of new homes. This measure, targeted at First Time or fresh start buyers, will allow purchasers to exit the rental market, help to build developer confidence in realisable consumer demand, and contribute to the recovery of our construction sector following the Covid-19 emergency.
Other measures to allow buyers to access newly-constructed housing affordably such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home Loan (formerly the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan), are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable. Information on these schemes is available at the following links:
https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/index.aspx, and
https://localauthorityhomeloan.ie/
