Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
512. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of contracts that have been signed with developers under the Croí Cónaithe cities scheme; and the total number of units to be provided through these contracts. [63751/22]
View answerThe Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme supports the building of apartments for sale to owner-occupiers. The Scheme aims to bridge the current “viability gap” between the cost of building apartments and the market sale price (where the cost of building is greater). The scheme is targeted principally at activating planning permissions already in place for such homes.
The scheme launched on the 10 May 2022 with an Expressions of Interest process which is being managed and administered by The Housing Agency on behalf of my Department. The closing date for receipt of proposals was 21 June 2022.
On receipt of applications in June, The Housing Agency has been actively undertaking the various appraisal stages (3) which deal with the following:
1. Eligibility of proposals
2. Ranking of suitable proposals and
3. A detailed due diligence process leading to designation (the current stage of progress).
Alongside this, the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) scheme is currently subject of an application in respect of State Aid to the EU’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) with a decision due shortly.
Until that live process has concluded, and due to the on-going commercial sensitivity surrounding the live assessment process, it is not possible to comment any further on specific details until then.
