Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
722. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable homes that were built in County Wexford in 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40620/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government is focused on ensuring that affordable, quality housing solutions are available to everyone in Irish society and this is reflected in the Programme for Government, "Our Shared Future". The Programme commits to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system through the progression of State-backed affordable housing.
This commitment was reflected in Budget 2021, which provides for an overall investment of €3.3 billion for the delivery of housing programmes, representing an increase of €641 million or 24% on 2020 and the single biggest spend on housing by any Government to fund the largest build programme in the history of the State. Importantly, €110 million of this amount will be provided to deliver a new national Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme for first time buyers and a new funding model to accelerate the delivery of cost rental homes through the Approved Housing Body sector.
€75 million is allocated for the Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme, aimed at first-time buyers buying new-build homes on private land. It will enable first-time buyers to buy a new home at a price they can afford, much sooner than would otherwise have been the case. The equity stake will fill the gap between the mortgage people can get, and the price of a new home. In so doing, it will build confidence in the construction sector to increase housing supply. The proposed price caps for the shared equity scheme are reflective of the median price of a new home bought by first-time buyers, and are targeted to address the affordability gap in different areas. It is anticipated that the Scheme will be supported and operated in partnership with the retail banks - depending on the final design, this will allow support for c.1,500 to 2,000 households to buy new homes in the first year.
The new Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) is the first dedicated funding stream for Cost Rental housing in Ireland. CREL will assist Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in developing or acquiring new homes for Cost Rental, to accelerate implementation of this new housing sector in the immediate term. The scheme harnesses the expertise and capacity of AHBs, amply demonstrated in the provision of social housing, and builds a foundation for further AHB involvement in Cost Rental.
Under the CREL scheme, the Housing Agency will make loans available to AHBs on very favourable terms to cover up to 30% of the development or acquisition costs of new homes for Cost Rental. The Budget allocation of €35 million is intended to assist the delivery of c. 350 new homes, in addition to the 50 new Cost Rental apartments scheduled for delivery later this year at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside.
To date, Serviced Sites Fund (now Affordable Housing Fund) funding of almost €200 million has been approved in principle in support of 40 infrastructure projects in 14 local authority areas across 9 counties, to assist in the delivery of almost 4,200 affordable homes for purchase or for rent. Contained within the Programme for Government was a commitment to extend the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). In line with this commitment, a review of SSF progress and projects to date was undertaken and, having regard to feedback from local authorities, a number of significant improvements to the funding scheme, now named the Affordable Housing Funding scheme, have been agreed and communicated to local authorities by way of Circular last month. The changes include expanding the scope of costs covered to subvent the all-in development cost of delivering the housing, which may include land purchase costs; taking applications as they are developed on a rolling basis as opposed to time constrained funding calls; and, allowing funding support to now exceed the current maximum of €50,000 per affordable dwelling on a stepped scale to €100,000, based on location and density.
Furthermore, the Land Development Agency is tasked with working with Government Departments, Local Authorities, state agencies, and other stakeholders to assemble strategic sites in urban areas and ensure the sustainable development of social and affordable homes for rent and purchase. All these measures are designed to increase housing supply at a time when needed most.
The Government also approved amending the provisions to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, for inclusion in the Affordable Housing Act, 2021. This will see an increase in the current 10% social housing requirement related to all new housing developments to a mandatory 20% for social and affordable requirements.
In addition to these measures, both the Rebuilding Ireland Homeloan and the Help to Buy Scheme are available to eligible households seeking to purchase homes.
The funding secured combined with the strong legislative underpinning I am putting in place will soon yield dividends, in the form of affordable housing delivery, in counties where there is a clear affordability challenge, including Wexford. The forthcoming All-of-Government housing strategy ‘Housing for All’ will further detail an extensive range of measures and ambitious targets to underpin the delivery of affordable housing over the coming years.
