Ruairí Ó Murchú
Ceist:59. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to address the housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33222/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 23 June 2022
Ceisteanna (59, 208)
Mick Barry
Ceist:208. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on the Housing for All programme. [22301/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 208 together.
Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of homes to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. The Plan is backed by historic levels of investment with in excess of €20bn through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency over the next 5 years. This will provide the sector with the stability and certainty it needs.
Housing for All is set out across four pathways to addressing the most pressing housing challenges facing the State:
Pathway to Supporting homeownership and Increasing Affordability
Pathway to Eradicating Homelessness, Increasing Social Housing Delivery And Supporting Social Inclusion
Pathway to Increasing New Housing Supply
Pathway to Addressing vacancy and Efficient Use of Existing Stock
These pathways are underpinned by long-term actions to address systemic challenges. The Plan aims to create a housing system which has environmental, social and economic sustainability at its heart and which meets the needs of all.
Increasing housing supply is at the core of Housing for All. Indications of increased construction activity are becoming evident which will help increase the availability of homes across all tenures.
This year, the Government’s target under Housing for All is 24,600 new homes. In the 12 months to the end of March 2022, a total of 22,219 new homes were completed. In the past 12 months (June 2021 to May 2022), Commencement Notices for 30,233 new homes were received. In addition, latest CSO figures show planning permissions for all residential dwellings are up 22.7% in the year ending Q1 2022 (44,491) when compared to the same time period to Q1 2021 (36,252). Together, the figures point to a substantial uplift in new housing supply in the coming years, as we increase output to average of at least 33,000 new homes per year. This increase in supply will be key to meeting demand, moderating price inflation, and addressing affordability for those wishing to rent or buy their own home.
With regard to public housing delivery, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan, setting out details of social and housing affordable delivery in the period 2022-2026. This includes information on the locations where housing will be delivered in addition to information on the planned delivery streams. In September 2021, I issued social housing targets to each local authority, setting out build and long-term leasing targets over the next five years. The main focus under Housing for All is to deliver social homes through new build. In developing the Housing Delivery Action Plans, each local authority was required to assess the level of demand with affordability constraint in their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) and plan provision accordingly. The Plans are currently being reviewed by my Department and will be published before the end of Q2 2022.
My Department published the Quarter 4 2021 Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR), which provides details of social housing developments that have been completed or were under construction in each local authority at the end of 2021. The report is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/af746-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q4-2021/
The capacity of Local Authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects requires the resourcing of their housing services. In this regard, I have sanctioned over 250 additional Local Authority posts, which are in the process of being filled across housing delivery teams in order to deliver on Housing for All's ambition.
Affordability, for those wishing to rent or buy, is at the heart of Housing for All.
The delivery of Cost Rental homes at scale is a key affordability measure under Housing for All, with State-backed rents that are in the order of 25% below what they would be on the private market. Approximately 18,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered between now and the end 2030 by Local Authorities, AHBs, and the LDA, with 1,580 such cost rental homes targeted for delivery in 2022.
To support Local Authorities in the delivery of affordable homes, the Affordable Housing Fund opened for applications from 1 September 2021. The homes that Local Authorities deliver under the Affordable Housing Fund will be sold at least 15% below open market value in respect of Affordable Purchase homes and in the order of 25% below open market value prices in respect of Cost Rental homes.
Furthermore, the Land Development Agency (LDA) has a key role in the delivery of affordable homes and has recently lodged four planning applications for projects that will, if granted planning permission, deliver over 2,300 homes. In 2022, the LDA will also see construction commence on two sites, St Kevin’s Hospital, Cork City (delivering 265 units) and Shanganagh, Shankill in conjunction with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (delivering 597 units, comprising 306 cost rental and 91 affordable purchase homes). Under Housing for All, 20 additional sites were designated for transfer to the LDA. These lands have the potential to deliver up to 15,000 homes and, in many cases, form part of a major revitalisation of urban centres.
The LDA has also launched “Project Tosaigh” aimed at unlocking land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints, to accelerate the delivery of up to 5,000 affordable homes. The first delivery stream of this LDA initiative was launched in November 2021. Details of the homes that will be made available under Project Tosaigh will be confirmed when commercial agreements are finalised.
In addition, the ‘First Home’ affordable purchase shared equity scheme will support circa 8,000 households in acquiring new homes in the private market in the years 2022 to 2026. Subject to the necessary final approvals process of all founders to the scheme, which will see the State operate the scheme in a strategic partnership with participating mortgage lenders, I anticipate that First Home will become operational in the coming weeks. Full information, including full eligibility criteria and regional price ceilings for homes, will be available on the First Home website upon the scheme’s launch.
Increasing the supply of housing, and delivering on our commitments in Housing for All, is the top priority for me and the Government and we have made a good start on our path towards this goal. Importantly, a comprehensive implementation and reporting framework is well established to assess how the actions under the Plan are progressing. These structures include political oversight, via the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Housing, the Housing for All Secretary General Delivery Group, and dedicated Workstreams, all of which monitor delivery of the Plan and recommend any adjustments to priorities, as required, on an ongoing basis.
Progress reports are published quarterly. The fourth of these reports, covering progress in Q2 2022 is due for publication in July. These reports can be accessed on www.gov.ie/en/collection/9d2ee-housing-for-all-quarterly-progress-reports/ .