Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
246. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what immediate steps are being taken to hold the executive of Mayo County Council accountable for the current stagnation in the delivery of the affordable housing scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49522/23]
View answer247. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what measures will be implemented to expedite the development of affordable housing within the Mayo County Council area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49523/23]
View answer248. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm whether there is a strategic plan in place to ensure that such delays are not encountered in future affordable housing scheme deliveries and that Mayo County Council has a plan to deliver affordable housing. [49524/23]
View answer249. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details on the number of affordable homes that will be built in Mayo between now and 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49525/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 246, 247, 248 and 249 together.
Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the nine year period of the plan to 2030. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes to be facilitated by Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
As Minister I have a policy and funding role in relation to the delivery of affordable housing in line with Housing For All. The development of each local affordable housing delivery programme and the administration of individual schemes approved for grant subsidy under the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is a matter for the local authority concerned, in this case Mayo County Council.
Following the publication of Housing for All in September 2021, I asked local authorities to prepare Housing Delivery Action Plans. Each local authority was asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability constraint projected for their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment Tool and plan their provision accordingly. 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. A copy of the Housing Delivery Action Plan for Mayo is available on its website at the following link:
www.mayo.ie/en-ie/your-council/services/housing-services/social-housing/housing-delivery-action-plan.
Mayo does not have a specific affordability target but has identified localised need, i.e. new households being formed unable to access housing for purchase or rent at prices/rents affordable to them and is developing an affordable housing delivery programme to respond appropriately. To date it has received approval for subsidy from the AHF to assist in the delivery of 13 affordable homes in Springfield, Westport.
At a recent meeting with the Department, Mayo County Council indicated that a number of additional affordable housing schemes are being prepared for which it intends applying for AHF subsidy support. The Department will continue to assist and support Mayo as it develops its affordability programme.
Local authorities also now complete and submit data returns to my Department on delivery of affordable homes in their area in the same manner as is done for social housing. Statistical reports detailing affordable housing delivery during 2022 and for the first two quarters of 2023 are available on my Department's website at the following link - www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/#affordable-housing-delivery It is worth noting that these reports show some significant early delivery of affordable homes via the First Home scheme in Mayo.
Given the profile of the county, it is expected that the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund and the Ready to Build services sites schemes will also make a significant contribution to addressing overall affordability needs in Mayo. Both of these schemes have been advertised by Mayo County Council on its official website.
Significant progress is being made to deliver the ambitious targets contained in Housing for All and my Department is working closely with the local authorities, including Mayo County Council, and with Approved Housing Bodies, the LDA, and retail banks via the First Home, to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing.
