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Social and Affordable Housing

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2018

Thursday, 25 January 2018

Ceisteanna (224, 234, 242)

Noel Grealish

Ceist:

224. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to reintroduce an affordable housing scheme; when he expects to announce the details of this scheme; the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3726/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Joan Burton

Ceist:

234. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the steps he is taking to provide affordable housing for persons with joint income earning between €75,000 and €100,000 per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3778/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

242. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the income criteria and expected number of houses per annum of the recently announced affordable homes scheme. [3864/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 234 and 242 together.

The Government acknowledges the affordability pressures faced by households with low to moderate incomes in particular parts of the country. It is precisely for that reason that the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness has prioritised the supply of new homes to meet current and pent-up demand, as well as helping to moderate house prices and rents, on both public and private lands.

Recognising that initiatives introduced to date are having an impact and will have a greater impact in time, on 22 January, I announced a package of initiatives, to help alleviate affordability pressures faced by households, particularly in areas of high housing demand and high accommodation costs. Further details on the suite of initiatives announced earlier this week can be found at http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/min-murphys-statement-on-affordable-homes/.

With regard to the new Affordable Purchase Scheme, the purpose of which is to enable eligible households to acquire a home of their own, supported by and in partnership with the State, these homes will be built initially on local authority land.

The scheme will be governed on the basis of the relevant provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which will be commenced shortly. Once the relevant provisions are commenced, I will develop, in consultation with the Housing Agency and local authorities, detailed Regulations covering the operation of the Scheme, including eligibility criteria. Based on the agreed criteria, the elected members of each local authority are then responsible for determining the order of priority to be accorded to eligible households, in relation to the sale of affordable dwellings.

Once the regulatory framework is in place, local authorities will have more options for the development of their land bank for affordable housing. Currently, Dublin City Council has three major ready-to-go sites being advanced through procurement. The elected members of the City Council have determined that 20% of the homes on these sites - at Infirmary Road, Emmett Road, and Oscar Traynor Road - will be affordable.

I anticipate that there is significant potential for the delivery of affordable homes on local authority lands. Following on from the Housing Summit on 22 January, I have asked local authority Chief Executives to submit, by mid-February, an outline of their respective affordable housing programmes, with a particular emphasis on Dublin, Galway, and Cork, where there is the greatest affordability gap.

Finally, with regard to households who do not meet income eligibility criteria for the new Affordable Purchase Scheme, the Help-to-Buy initiative which was retained in Budget 2018 should help alleviate some of the specific challenges faced by those first-time buyers in accessing the housing market. The initiative has been designed to provide immediate and targeted support for first-time buyers in meeting their deposit requirements and encouraging the construction of new housing units.

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