Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
169. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the criteria he plans to establish regarding affordability in HBFI funded developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52267/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn my Budget speech on 10 October 2017, I announced a proposal to establish a new dedicated fund, Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) to provide funding on market terms to viable residential development projects whose owners are experiencing difficulty in obtaining debt funding. Up to €750 million of ISIF funds will be allocated to HBFI to provide funding on market terms and the fund is estimated to have capacity to finance about 6,000 homes in the coming years.
HBFI will not be directly involved in development – its role would be solely as a commercial lender and therefore will not have any role in designing the housing mix contained in the schemes it funds. HBFI will provide lending on commercial, market-equivalent terms and conditions. This approach would be akin to a bank or private equity investor. As such HBFI will not have targets in relation to social or affordable housing but will provide a significant contribution to supporting the delivery of additional supply of all types of residential housing in the coming years.
While no specific criteria regarding the pricing of HBFI funded developments are envisaged, provided they are commercially viable, increasing the level of housing output will increase the affordability of housing more generally, which in turn also will have a positive effect on our ability to provide social housing. For example, any residential developments funded by HBFI will be subject to the same planning and regulatory requirements as all other developments. This includes policies relating to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and as such, it is expected that a minimum of 10% of the anticipated output of this investment by HBFI will become available for social housing through this statutory mechanism over this period.
Though HBFI is intended to be a debt funder for private residential projects, I can assure the Deputy that this Government is equally determined to tackle the issue of housing affordability. Earlier this month the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government made a number of additional announcements in this regard including the launch of the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan and a new Affordable Purchase Scheme each of which should make a contribution to delivering homes that are more affordable for potential buyers.
