Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 December 2017
277. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number and value of properties purchased by approved housing bodies on behalf of the State to address the housing crisis; and the value and quantity of same as of 1 December 2015, 2016 and 2017, by county, in tabular form. [52481/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra280. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the criteria balance and checks that an approved housing body must adhere to when buying a property at a public auction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52484/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra281. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the criteria balance and check that an approved housing body must adhere to when purchasing a property from an auctioneer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52485/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 277, 280 and 281 together.
There are two primary funding mechanisms provided by my Department to facilitate the purchase of properties for social housing purposes by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).
Under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), funding of up to 100% of project costs may be advanced by local authorities to AHBs to provide accommodation for the elderly, homeless and people with disabilities.
My Department also provides financial support to AHBs in the form of a long term loan under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) to assist with the financing of the construction or acquisition of units that will be provided for social housing use. This loan facility can support up to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the project, where the units will be provided by the AHB under long-term lease arrangements (known as Payment and Availability Agreements and funded by the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP)) to local authorities for social housing use.
Both schemes are administered by local authorities, and funding advanced to AHBs is subsequently recouped from my Department in line with the terms and conditions of the relevant scheme.
Under both schemes, the demand for and suitability of the properties for social housing must be confirmed by the local authority. Where an AHB is seeking funding to assist them with the acquisition of properties under the CALF scheme an application for funding must be submitted to the Department. A financial evaluation is carried out by the Housing Agency on behalf of the Department prior to approving funding. Approvals also have regard to the acquisition price and submission of a market valuation for the property. It is important to note that under the CALF scheme, the loan is fully repayable by the AHB at the end of the term.
Regulation of the AHB sector is based on a Voluntary Regulation Code. The Housing Agency currently has responsibility, on an interim basis, for regulating AHBs. My Department is currently preparing legislation, the Housing (Regulation of Registered Housing Providers) Bill, which will put the current interim voluntary regulatory arrangements for the AHB sector on a statutory footing.
With regard to the number of units purchased by AHBs through schemes funded by my Department, information on delivery is published on the Department’s website at the following link:
www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Delivery statistics are collated on a quarterly/annual basis so it is not possible to provide tabular information specifically to the date requested, i.e. 1 December for each of the years indicated. The following table below provides information on an annual basis by local authority area for 2015, 2016 and to end Q2 2017. Delivery under these schemes for Q3 2017 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.
|
- |
CAS |
CAS |
CAS |
CAS |
CALF |
CALF |
CALF |
CALF |
|
Local Authority |
No. of units Acquired 2015 |
No. of units acquired 2016 |
No. of units acquired Q1 2017 |
No. of units acquired Q2 2017 |
No. of units Acquired 2015 |
No. of units acquired 2016 |
No. of units acquired Q1 2017** |
No. of units acquired Q2 2017** |
|
Carlow |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cavan |
0 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
|
Clare |
6 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cork City |
7 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cork County* |
0 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
60 |
-5* |
27 |
6 |
|
Donegal |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
|
Dublin City |
18 |
21 |
16 |
0 |
47 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
|
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown |
1 |
28 |
19 |
0 |
10 |
47 |
4 |
6 |
|
Fingal |
15 |
42 |
23 |
8 |
4 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway City |
0 |
14 |
0 |
2 |
30 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway County |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kerry |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kildare |
8 |
34 |
48 |
13 |
0 |
49 |
6 |
37 |
|
Kilkenny |
2 |
16 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
16 |
|
Laois |
8 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Limerick |
13 |
20 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
Longford |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Louth |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
|
Mayo |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Meath |
0 |
8 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monaghan |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
South Dublin |
5 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
82 |
14 |
0 |
1 |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Waterford |
0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
|
Westmeath |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wexford |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
28 |
35 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wicklow |
2 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTALS |
112 |
277 |
152 |
57 |
331 |
283 |
50 |
68 |
(*The negative value arises as a result of a revision to previous years data which is accounted for in the year of the revision rather than by amending past results. **2017 data is subject to reconciliation at year end.)
Funding for the CALF and CAS schemes is drawn down by AHBs from local authorities, and subsequently recouped by local authorities from my Department. Depending on factors such as phased delivery, stage payment, and the time-lag between delivery and finalisation of claims, unit delivery and the incurring of costs at Department level may not occur in the same year.
In addition to the acquisitions listed, the CAS and CALF programmes also support AHBs to deliver new build units for social housing. The full range of delivery supported under these schemes is published on my Department’s website at the following link:
www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/attachments/1a2-sh-2015-todate-brkdn-final_2017_v2.xlsx.
Total expenditure for the CAS and CALF schemes for AHB acquisition and build programmes over the period 2015-end Q2 2017 is set out in the following table.
Expenditure by year on full programme including Build and Acquisition schemes
|
Year |
CAS Expenditure (to nearest €1m) |
CALF Expenditure (to nearest €1m) |
|
2015 |
€38m |
€13m |
|
2016 |
€37m |
€35m |
|
2017 (to end Q2) |
€33.5m |
€18m |
I have made it very clear that I want to see a greater emphasis on direct building of social housing than was envisaged originally under Rebuilding Ireland. In 2018, we will see some 5,000 homes built, including 3,800 by local authorities and AHBs, and a strong pipeline is in place to assist in the delivery of these homes.
Since Q4 2016, my Department has also been publishing detailed quarterly updates on the status of all social housing build programmes, including the CAS and CALF schemes. The latest report, Q3 2017 is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the link below and shows significant progress in the expansion of AHB Build activity, particularly under the CALF scheme.
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/housing-construction-report-q3/.
