Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2022
102. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a regulatory impact assessment was carried out on the Croí Cónaithe Cities Fund; if an assessment of its impact was carried out; if so, the findings of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23895/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra131. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he undertook a cost-benefit analysis or a cost evaluation analysis of the Croí Cónaithe Cities Fund; if so, the findings of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23781/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 131 together.
Housing for All set out four pathways to achieve its vision of a sustainable housing system, ensuring that everyone in the State has access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a good quality of life.
Addressing the current housing shortage requires short, medium and long-term action to stimulate housing supply. The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme is one measure within Housing for All that will help to kick-start developments that might not otherwise be developed.
We know from our research that there is a sizeable proportion of inactivated planning permissions in urban areas that are capable of being brought forward in the shorter term. These include numerous permissions for apartments in our urban cores, that meet important compact growth objectives. In many cases, the cost of constructing new apartments is more than the price achievable in the sales market, leading to a clear viability gap as set out in a number of reports.
To tackle this issue, Housing for All announced a new Croí Cónaithe (Cities) scheme to bridge that viability gap. Following extensive development work, I launched the scheme yesterday (10th May).
My Department, together with the Housing Agency, developed the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme drawing on:
- a stakeholder engagement workshop on December 10th last, to gain feedback on the proposed scheme from industry experts;
- consultations with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Revenue Commissioners and legal advice in relation to the operational basis for the Scheme;
- Housing Agency, internal Department, published and commissioned research; and
- Housing Agency analysis and assessment modelling.
The scheme will, over the next 5 years, seek to deliver apartment developments in cities for sale to owner occupiers. It will be managed by the Housing Agency on behalf of my Department. Over the next six weeks the Housing Agency will be accepting Expressions of Interest from developers for eligible schemes.
Each proposal will be assessed by the Housing Agency, first to determine its eligibility under the terms of the scheme and then ranked in accordance with a number of criteria to ensure that schemes providing, inter alia, the best value for money are prioritised for support. Details of the assessment process are set out in the Expressions of Interest document linked here: Expression of Interest (EOI) Call Croí Cónaithe Cities_.pdf (housingagency.ie)
