Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
454. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to introduce an affordable housing scheme for persons within certain income bands who cannot afford to buy a home privately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18824/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe delivery of more affordable homes, to buy or rent, is a major priority for Government, focusing in particular on the cities of Dublin, Galway and Cork, where people are facing the greatest affordability challenge. Recognising that people want a choice of affordable purchase and rental, depending on their stage of life and circumstances, we are progressing both.
On 22 January, I announced a package of initiatives to help alleviate affordability pressures faced by households, particularly in those areas of high housing demand and high accommodation costs. The measures announced include the establishment of the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, the re-introduction of an affordable purchase scheme, and the introduction of cost rental projects. Further details on the suite of initiatives announced on 22 January can be found at
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/min-murphys-statement-on-affordable-homes/.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is designed to enable credit-worthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range. The scheme is targeted at first-time buyers who have access to an adequate deposit and have the capacity to repay a mortgage, but who are unable to access a mortgage sufficient for them to purchase their first home. In order to be eligible for the scheme, single applicants must not be earning more than €50,000 per annum and the combined income of joint applicants must not be greater than €75,000 per annum.
In terms of affordable purchase, the new Scheme will be based on the relevant provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which will be commenced shortly, and enabling regulations which are in preparation. The income thresholds will be the same as for the home loan and other criteria will be set out in the regulations. The elected members of each local authority will be responsible for determining the order of priority to be accorded to eligible households, in line with the framework of the national scheme.
Dublin City Council already has two sites, at O'Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road, being procured on the basis of a 30% social, 20% affordable purchase and 50% private market housing mix. Dublin City Council is progressing the procurement of these sites as a top priority. In total, the two sites will deliver over 1,200 new build homes.
In addition, the Government is determined to make cost rental a major part of the Irish housing system, similar to the role it plays in many European countries. Under this approach, rents are set at levels to recover the construction costs and to facilitate the management and administration of developments, but with only a minimal profit margin included. A pilot project is currently being progressed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, at Enniskerry Road, Dundrum, in conjunction with the Housing Agency and Approved Housing Bodies (AHB), using land owned by the Agency. This pilot is providing very valuable learning to inform the wider roll-out. We are now working with the EIB and other stakeholders with a view to announcing the first major cost rental project in Dublin shortly, with a cost rental programme across Dublin and other cities to follow.
Importantly, the new measures announced in January of this year are specifically targeted at delivering more affordable homes from our State land bank in urban areas where affordability issues are greatest, and have the potential to deliver more than 3,000 new affordable homes to buy or rent initially, with a target delivery of at least 10,000 new affordable homes across all initiatives in the longer term.
Recognising that there may be enabling infrastructure requirements on some sites, I am also providing Exchequer funding of €25 million, over 2018 and 2019, as a key contribution towards the delivery of more affordable housing. Applications for this funding will be invited shortly.
