Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 April 2023
73. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social and affordable houses built in the Kerry local authority area in each of the years from 2018 to 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [18434/23]
View answerHousing for All is the Government's plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority, including Kerry. This data is available to the end of 2022, and is published on the statistics page of my Department's website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. The most recent publication was for Quarter 4 2022. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/.
A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis of completions, locations, approvals stage etc at the link below: Social Housing Construction Status Report Q4 2022 - Dataset - Dept of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
A key action of Housing for All required local authorities to develop Housing Delivery Action Plans to include details of social and affordable housing delivery. The Plans set out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. A copy of Kerry County Council's Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on its website at the following link: www.kerrycoco.ie/housing-delivery-programme/.
Local authorities with the highest levels of affordable housing need were asked to prepare Affordable Delivery Plans as part of their overall Plans and were set five-year Affordable Delivery Targets. Kerry does not have a specific target as average house price levels in the county are still well below the national median, but I understand that there may be some localised affordability issues in certain areas which the local authority is examining.
Where there are localised challenges, funding can be made available to develop a scheme in line with Affordable Housing Fund criteria. To date, my Department has not received any application for funding under the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) from Kerry. However, assistance has been offered by both my Department and via the Housing Agency and Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office.
In addition, the First Home Scheme which was launched in July 2022, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model. The Scheme aims to support in the region of 8,000 households in acquiring new homes in the private market in the years 2022 to 2026 with an overall budget of €400 million. The scheme is available nationwide, including Co. Kerry. Full information on the scheme is available on the First Home Scheme dedicated website, www.firsthomescheme.ie.
Finally, the new Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund is also available in Kerry and it provides for grants for refurbishment of vacant properties of up to €30,000 or €50,000 if the property is derelict. I also announced last year, a new Ready to Build serviced sites scheme under the Fund where local authorities will provide sites at a discount to people who want to build their own home. Information on both of these scheme is available directly from Kerry County Council.
