Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
664. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the particular provision that is being made for young nurses and other health professionals who are unable to access affordable accommodation in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40227/22]
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. It will see 54,000 affordable home interventions which includes 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes to be delivered between now and 2030 by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through ‘First Home’, a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Under pathway 1 of this strategy, “Pathways to Home Ownership and Increasing Affordability”, two new Affordable Purchase schemes have been established (the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme and the First Home shared equity scheme), as well as a new Cost Rental tenancy and an improved Local Authority Home Loan scheme.
Both affordable purchase schemes will support households, including young nurses and other health professionals that, because of current income levels, are unable to secure a mortgage to meet the costs of purchasing a newly constructed home. More specifically, the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme assists first-time buyers purchasing Local Authority-delivered new homes by bridging the gap between the market value of the home and the combined value of the buyer's mortgage and deposit. Affordable Purchase homes will be advertised on the relevant Local Authority’s website in advance of their sale, as well as eligibility requirements such as household income limits.
Under the Housing for All targets, delivery of Affordable Purchase homes through the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme will be scaled up and implemented across more Local Authorities with a wider selection of homes as soon as practicable.
The First Home shared equity scheme acts in a similar way to the Local Authority-led scheme, though it will apply to homes purchased through the private market. The scheme was launched on 7th July and, subject to eligibility criteria, application assessment, and terms and conditions, it can provide funds up to 30% of the value of the property (or 20% if you use the Help to Buy Scheme).
The Scheme will primarily support households in the purchase of new homes within designated regional price ceilings, set with reference to the median prices for new homes purchased by first-time buyers in the area, and it aims to support c. 8,000 households in the private market in the years out to 2026. Full operational details of First Home scheme are available at the following link:
www.firsthomescheme.ie
The Housing for All strategy also introduced Cost Rental tenancies as a new form of long-term sustainable home rental. It is targeted at middle-income households with incomes above the social housing limits, but who cannot afford to purchase or rent their own home on the open market. Cost Rental provides tenants with secure tenancies in sustainable, long-term homes. Under the Cost Rental model, rents for homes are set to cover only the cost of financing, building, managing and maintaining the homes. State subventions can be used in order to reduce the initial capital cost and make this starting cost rent more affordable.
Other measures, such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home Loan, are also nationally available to eligible purchasers, including nurses and other health professionals, to make home ownership more affordable.
The Local Authority Home Loan scheme is a successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. The new Local Authority Home Loan commenced on 4 January 2022 and is available for families and single people on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The loan can be used by first-time buyers and Fresh Start applicants for both for new and second-hand properties, or for self-builds.
Under the Local Authority Home Loan scheme the income ceiling for a single applicant has been increased from €50,000 to €65,000 in counties where the scheme's house price limit is €320,000 (Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow). In the rest of the country, where the scheme’s house price limit is €250,000, the income ceiling for a single applicant is €50,000.
More details on the Local Authority Home Loan scheme are available on the following link:
localauthorityhomeloan.ie
The Help-to-Buy incentive supports First-time Buyers in meeting the deposit requirements for newly-built houses or apartments, as well as self-build homes. Subject to the level of income tax and DIRT paid over the previous 4 years, the Help-to-Buy scheme provides a maximum benefit to First-Time Buyers of €30,000 or 10% of the cost of the newly constructed home.
