Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 May 2022
56. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the new Croí Cónaithe fund to service sites and refurbish vacant properties in regional towns and villages. [17862/22]
View answer87. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the Croí Cónaithe towns fund as outlined in Housing for All, which will allow local authorities to support homeownership by making available serviced sites at a reduced cost and by supporting the refurbishment of vacant properties; when it is likely to come on stream; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21924/22]
View answerI ask the Minister about the Croí Cónaithe fund. We know there is currently huge attention being paid to dereliction and vacancy. We know the benefits of bringing derelict and vacant housing back into housing stock, not just for residential use but because we know about the embodied carbon in vacant and derelict housing. It makes perfect economic and environmental sense to do so. I ask the Minister update us on the Croí Cónaithe funding and how it will assist with bringing derelict properties back into use.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 87 together.
Housing for All provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030, with an overall objective that citizens in the State should have access to good-quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations with economic, social and environmental sustainability built right into the system. The strategy sets out, over four pathways, a broad suite of measures to achieve its policy objectives, together with a financial commitment of in excess of €4 billion per annum. A suite of measures under way in the pathway to address vacancy and the efficient use of housing stock includes the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, as referenced by the Deputy, which will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of serviced sites housing to attract people to build their own homes and support the refurbishment of vacant properties. This will enable people to live in small towns and villages in a sustainable way.
The consideration of the approach to the Croí Cónaithe towns fund is at an advanced stage, including the scope and appropriate timeframes, and will be launched very shortly. As Deputy Matthews said, this is an important fund from the Government and one which will breathe new life into towns and villages. A direct payment will enhance the viability of bringing vacant and derelict stock back into residential use. It is important to breathe life into towns and villages across the country. We look forward to launching this fund later on this year. I look forward to seeing applications coming in from the 31 local authorities.
I thank the Minister of State and welcome the fact that Croí Cónaithe will be launched shortly. I also recognise that Housing for All is an extensive and significant housing policy document that encompasses a massive range of housing, including social, affordable and private. That needs to be acknowledged, as well as the fact that success is being delivered within that.
A committee recently carried out an extensive series of meetings on dereliction, vacancy and regeneration, and how we can bring building stock back into life and concentrate not just on buildings in towns but also deliver nicer public areas and address transport to and through those towns as we bring life back into our towns and villages across the country. Croí Cónaithe will definitely support that.
Another area we have to examine is the fact that we know where the dereliction is and we are getting more and more information on vacancies. As the census reports and local property tax returns come in, we will have better information on that. We know where the derelict properties are and why we need to address that. We know it makes perfect sense and that many people now want to live in towns and villages, given working from home, digitisation and improved transport throughout rural Ireland coming on stream.
We also need to examine how we will do this. The current building regulations are comprehensive and vitally important, but they put an extra layer of difficulty on developers as they try to bring upper floors and second and third stories back into use. We need to examine the regulations, not in any way to reduce the regulations or standards but to simplify the process and make it easier for people to carry out that work.
I ask the Minister to also provide an update on the Croí Cónaithe cities fund. Will it be up and running this year? Has the Government decided whether the fund will be an equity stake in the new-build apartments, grant aid to the purchaser or a subsidy to the developer?
On Deputy Ó Broin’s supplementary question, we got Cabinet approval just this week in respect of proceeding with the fund. We are working through matters with the Directorate General for Competition in respect of state aid. There is a similar scheme in Sweden that was successful. What we have to do is notify that, which we are doing. I expect that we will launch it in the coming weeks. There will be a lead-in time, so I cannot give a figure for how much will be drawn down this year. The predominance of it will probably start from next year. All details of the scheme will be published. We will hold a briefing before that. We received Cabinet approval on Tuesday in respect of moving forward to the next stage.
As Deputy Matthews rightly outlined, the Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be a game changer in terms of bringing derelict properties back into use, along with the other interventions in the system. There will be two strings to it. One string will involve looking at a reduced cost of self-build in terms of serviced sites, which is very important for the system, while the second will relate to the refurbishment of vacant properties. There is evidence to be seen around the country in respect of how many vacant properties there are. That is a potential we have to tap into and bring back into use. There is a target of 2,000 homes being brought back into use by 2025. Those direct payments will defray VAT, development levies and the building regulations. However, we have to be careful regarding the standards to which we are delivering housing in this country. We have the best quality housing to the best accreditation in terms of energy and regulation and we have to be careful that we do not compromise our standards in the context of that role.
Many people have come to me on this issue because they know the Green Party holds strong policies in respect of urban and rural village regeneration and all the benefits that brings - economic, social, environmental and climate. I am glad the Minister stated the fund will be launched shortly. I look forward to the detail on that. I have brought forward a Bill that considers how we can streamline the regulation process as well. That is very much part of it. It is good that the Government recognises that and has committed substantial funding to it. We also need to consider how we do this in the context of either private owners who want to do this or those who wish to develop second and third storeys. It is important that the whole pattern of how we do this is considered. I look forward to discussing those regulations and suggestions with the Minister at a later date.
I will bring in Deputy Bruton to conclude on this question.
I understand that part of Croí Cónaithe involves looking at higher-density urban developments and introducing an intervention to make them affordable for first-time buyers. What progress has been made on that scheme? I do not know whether that question was answered in reply to Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. There is much high-density development. In constituencies such as mine, it is almost exclusively high-density development. The fund will be eagerly awaited.
Obviously, there are two funds here. There is a fund to which the Government has committed €500 million between cities and towns. The Deputy is 100% correct. There are approximately 80,000 planning permissions that have not been activated, many of which are for high-density development or in city areas. The Croí Cónaithe cities fund will be focused at five cities, namely, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. I brought the proposal and memo to Cabinet on Tuesday and we got approval to move to the next stage. That means that within a matter of weeks, we will be launching an open call on the fund. It will provide real assistance for owner-occupiers. It will create viability within those developments. It will be an open call for people to come forward with their proposals, on the condition that those proposals are built out. It will be done on an open-book basis. I know this is something for which the Deputy has advocated strongly, and rightly so because this speaks to ensuring we have compact urban growth and that we actually get some of these sites developed, with people and families living on them. We are only weeks away from the launch. I again thank the Deputy for his interest in this matter.
