Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to what extent he might increase the production of housing in all areas throughout the country to meet the housing demand thereby alleviating the accommodation prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6888/24]
View answer92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which he can harness any new measures to accelerate the production and availability of extra housing to meet the obvious demand whether by way of modular, the development of private sites on which affordable or mass produced housing units of a high standard can be made available, with a view to providing accommodation in adequate scale to meet the ever increasing demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6887/24]
View answer250. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the further steps that can be taken to dramatically increase the housing output to meet the requirements of both the public and private housing programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7374/24]
View answer256. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to what extent he expects to be in a position to improve or augment the various schemes encompassing the Housing For All programme with a view to identifying how best these might be improved to meet the challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7380/24]
View answer261. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the degree to which housing policy can be modified to deliver the product at an accelerated pace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7385/24]
View answerSome of the text go lost in translation with regard to Question No. 68.
That is not unusual.
The word "prices" should have read "crisis", but it could also refer to prices. Two questions as set out are connected in that regard.
I ask that we look at the alternatives. Much along the lines of my colleague, we recognise that we are making progress, but we are not making progress quick enough.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 92, 250, 256 and 261 together.
Accelerating the delivery of housing is a key priority for Government. Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase and fast-track the supply of housing, and it is delivering. This continues to break records year on year for the delivery of housing. Almost 33,000, that is, 32,695 new homes were completed last year, which is the highest in 15 years. The residential vacancy rate has dipped below 4% and dereliction is down 7.9% according to GeoDirectory.
Indicators for the future are also very positive, with 32,801 homes commencing construction in 2023 and planning permission granted for 37,600 homes in the year to end September 2023. In fact, the recent Euroconstruct report, as highlighted by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, demonstrated that Ireland is an outlier in Europe. While total construction activity across 19 European countries is expected to fall in 2024, Ireland’s construction activity is due to expand this year. Residential property prices have also moderated significantly with an increase of 2.9% in the year to November 2023, down from a high of 15% in March 2022. That is down to supply and delivery of housing.
Housing for All has an inbuilt flexibility to review measures to reflect the changing and complex needs of the housing system. The latest updated action plan, published in November, continues to focus on activating and delivering housing at pace and enhancing affordability, while fundamentally reforming our housing system to ensure it is sustainable into future.
A comprehensive suite of measures was introduced to further enhance delivery, including: reducing the cost of construction by removing development levies for a limited time, saving up to the value of €12,650 per unit, on average, and encouraging accelerated delivery; increasing the number of vacant and derelict properties being renovated by enhancing the grants available and making it easier to apply; facilitating the commencement of works to thousands of affordable apartments to rent by introducing of the sustainable tenancy affordable rent, STAR, scheme, and revising the terms of the cost rental equity loan, CREL; encouraging innovation in construction to improve the pace and efficiency of house building by taking measures to ensure modern methods of construction are used in more developments effectively, which is in one of Deputy Durkan's questions, to deliver housing more effectively; funding the Land Development Agency, LDA, to assemble strategic land banks for housing on a mix of public and private lands to provide essential long-term stability to the housing market; and identifying State-owned lands that may be available and suitable for housing.
Reflecting the importance of this issue, a record €5.1 billion capital investment in housing was announced in budget 2024. The capital funding being provided will ensure continued delivery of new affordable homes for purchase and rent. All the trends are certainly going in the right direction. As the Minister said, there is no doubt that this is a flexible plan that will adapt and change, as required.
As the previous contributor mentioned, our population is increasing. We are in almost full employment. There is no doubt that this creates challenges, but Government is up to these challenges and, certainly, ensuring we have a vibrant and strong construction sector and a planning and fevelopment Bill that is fit for purpose to help deliver housing in a sustainable way in order that people can participate in that system, while using modern methods of construction to help accelerate the delivery of housing in all tenure types right across the State.
Yes, it is working. As I said, however, it is not working quickly enough. We happen to have in my constituency a situation whereby a variety and cohort of people cannot access the market at all, no matter what happens, except over long waiting periods. For example, we have many people whose homes were repossessed by the banks back in the early days of the financial crash. They are not able to access a loan because of two things, one of which is their age. Obviously, they have moved on in the meantime and are no longer in the age bracket that it is attractive to get a loan at a reasonably affordable cost. We need to do something about that to bring their possibilities upfront and particularly target it at them.
For a number of people then, on one hand, their increment is too high to qualify for a local authority house. We are getting a number of local authority houses from the Part V scheme at present and that is welcome. It is progressive and good. However, it is not quick enough either. There are, therefore, a large number of people on that housing list who have come to be on the list in a variety of ways, one of which is through an application to their local authority. Their income is too high to qualify for a local authority house and too low to qualify for a local authority loan. They are then consigned to the marketplace almost forever. Then, there is the group of people who are getting older and whose housing possibilities are growing dimmer by the day.
This is the last point I will make. A number of people were also knocked off housing lists all over the country during Covid-19 and the lockdown, and unfairly knocked off as far as I am concerned. I ask now, especially, that the Minister considers a new element to the scheme to allow them back on the list without having to go through a waiting period.
The Deputy raised the very important point of people who find themselves in difficult situations, whether it is a home being repossessed, marital breakdown or another issue, which can impact on their ability to sustain housing and find affordable housing. The Government is responding to this through Housing for All, the fresh start principles, the local authority home loan scheme and the Croí Cónaithe grants, which are very useful in enabling people to find properties and renovate them for accommodation.
The Deputy raised the issue of people who are not eligible to apply for a local authority house because their incomes are too high. The Government has delivered 4,200 affordable purchase homes, including in County Kildare, and the delivery of those will continue apace. Cost-rental housing is another option for people who find themselves in that circumstance.
The Deputy also raised issues facing older people who may wish to downsize. The opportunity is there and should be there for people who may wish to live in a smaller home and sell their home on to a family. In my constituency, I find that many older people wish to do that. As the market continues to grow, with different housing tenure types and the development of housing, the opportunity to do that is thankfully starting to prevail.
People who are removed from the local authority housing waiting list have the opportunity to appeal that decision. The Department carries out an annual review of that list. It is important that there is an appeals mechanism in place for people who find themselves in those circumstances.
In summary, there are many different opportunities for people, particularly those who find themselves in such difficult circumstances. That is what the Housing for All plan tries to reflect.
I thank the Minister of State. I agree that people who have been knocked off the housing list can appeal but the appeal does not always work. In fact, it seldom works. The problem is that such people are put to the bottom of the housing list and have no chance of being housed within the next five, six or seven years. That is deplorable, as far as they are concerned. I ask that the Minister look again at Kildare as an example. Rents in the county are as high as €3,000 for month for new housing rentals. That does not work for many of the people in the income bracket I am talking about. It drives up inflation and house prices. Everything is going in the wrong direction for them. House prices are rising very rapidly and, at the same time, the availability of houses is very restricted, with only small numbers coming on the market. A special and unique review of these cases, of which there are many, is needed. I would not be slow to try to exploit every possibility for people in any such situation but it does not work in a number of counties. Kildare is not unique.
There needs to be uniformity in the appeals process across the country and I am certain that there is. As I said, our Department carries out an annual review of that with all the constituent local authorities to ensure there is a fair and balanced approach to appeals. However, appeals do work. If people follow due process, the appeals process can work. As I said, there are many opportunities now for people who find themselves either outside income thresholds. They have other means to get a roof over their heads. Kildare has the highest use of the first home shared equity scheme in the country. There is good usage of the scheme and Kildare County Council is working very diligently on it. As I said, this is an adaptive plan. We are trying to meet the complex needs of many different people who find themselves in difficult circumstances.
