Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2022
222. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the undertaking made by each local authority to the development affordable homes for purchase in each of the coming years for which he has sought a commitment. [25949/22]
View answerDelivery 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 initial Plans to me in December 2021. Preparation of the Plans allowed each local authority to assess the level of demand with affordability constraint in their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment and plan provision accordingly. The Plans are currently being revised and updated by local authorities in the light of ongoing engagement and clarifications, and I expect that they will be ready for publication by local authorities in the Summer. They will provide a comprehensive overview of projected delivery of affordable housing nationally.
While all local authorities are encouraged to bring forward affordable schemes where they are needed, specific targets have been allocated to 18 local authorities to bring forward delivery in addition to the Land Development Agency (LDA), Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) or Part V delivery in their area. These local authorities are those where it has been identified that the need for affordable housing is a significant proportion of overall housing need.
In addition to the targeted local authority delivery, affordable purchase and Cost Rental homes will also be made available by AHBs and the LDA as part of the overall affordable housing delivery commitment under ‘Housing For All’.
The delivery targets, for local authority arranged delivery only, for each of the local authorities concerned are shown in this table below:
Housing for All:- Local Authority Affordable Housing Delivery Targets from LA Lands or Advance Purchase 2022 - 2026
|
County Council |
Total |
|
Carlow County Council |
38 |
|
Cork City Council |
378 |
|
Cork County Council |
189 |
|
Dublin City Council |
2,114 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council |
1,057 |
|
Fingal County Council |
981 |
|
Galway City Council |
151 |
|
Galway County Council |
226 |
|
Kildare County Council |
226 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
76 |
|
Laois County Council |
38 |
|
Limerick City and County Council |
264 |
|
Louth County Council |
226 |
|
Meath County Council |
151 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
1,133 |
|
Waterford City and County Council |
76 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
76 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
151 |
|
TOTAL |
7,550 |
Specific targets have not been set for the remaining 13 local authorities regarding their provision of affordable housing. It will be a matter for each of these local authorities to consider whether a particular requirement for affordable housing arises and whether it will bring forward specific affordable schemes to meet this need. My Department and the Housing Agency are available to assist in this regard.
Where local authorities without affordable housing targets have localised affordability challenges in key towns, they can apply to my Department for funding to develop affordable housing schemes where they can demonstrate that an affordable scheme is needed to address those localised affordability challenges and they can fulfil the criteria for the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF).
The First Home Scheme will be delivered via a strategic partnership between the State and participating mortgage lenders and I can confirm that all parties are working with a view to deploying the scheme by July of this year. 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. This Scheme will be available nationwide.
Other measures to allow buyers to affordably access newly-constructed housing 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:
www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/index.aspx , and
localauthorityhomeloan.ie/
