Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 May 2023
128. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will confirm the number of applications and approvals that were made under the croí cónaithe apartment scheme in the cities of Cork, Limerick and Galway up to 1 May 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23477/23]
View answerThe Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme supports building 5,000 apartments for sale to owner-occupiers up to 2026. 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 in May 2022 with an Expressions of Interest process, which is being managed and administered by The Housing Agency on behalf of my Department. Since receipt of applications in June 2022, The Housing Agency has been undertaking the various appraisal stages which deal with the following:
1. Eligibility of proposals2. Ranking of suitable proposals and3. A detailed due diligence process leading to designation (current stage).
On 6 February 2023, my Department received notification from the European Commission that the scheme has been deemed compatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107 (3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This positive decision enables The Housing Agency to actively progress matters on processing and concluding Stage 3 of the Scheme and will allow the building of designated apartments to get underway.
The appraisal stage is not yet concluded and it is not possible to provide a breakdown of applications and approvals in cities requested. However, I can confirm that at stage 1, there were 26 proposals by 16 different entities. That was just over 3,800 units. Seven of those were ineligible. At stage 2, the number of units under consideration was 2,442. The Housing Agency is now concluding appraisals of projects with the potential to deliver up to 1,750 owner occupied apartments. Letters of Intent have issued to successful applicants, with a view to entering contracts on conclusion of the last appraisal/due diligence stage. In line with the Housing for All Action Plan Update (November 2022), a second call under the scheme is expected to be announced by end of Q2 2023.
