Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
636. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a breakdown of his affordable housing targets as set out in figure 3 on page 32 of Housing For All for each year by scheme (details supplied). [43632/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing for All strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. It will see 54,000 affordable home interventions including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 Cost Rental homes delivered between now and 2030 by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through ‘First Home’ a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Approximately 28,500 affordable purchase and Cost Rental homes will be delivered in the period to 2026 broadly on the basis of 2:1 affordable purchase to Cost Rental. In that period, over 10,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered by AHBs, Local Authorities and the LDA, with delivery increasing incrementally to an average of 2,000 Cost Rental homes per year. AHBs will be supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding and local authorities will be able to avail of funding for Cost Rental delivery through the Affordable Housing Fund. The LDA will also deliver Cost Rental on its own portfolio of sites or through acquisitions under Project Tosaigh.
In relation to affordable purchase, the First Home Scheme was launched on 7 July last, and primarily supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model. The Scheme aims to support in the region of 8,000 households in acquiring new homes in the private market in the years 2022 to 2026 with an overall budget of €400 million. The remaining affordable homes for purchase will be delivered by a combination of local authorities and the Land Development Agency.
Affordable homes delivered by local authorities will be supported by the Affordable Housing Fund with any funding being made available will be underpinned by local authorities' Housing Delivery Action Plans. Each local authority has now prepared a Housing Delivery Action Plan for 2022 to 2026, details of which are available from the respective local authority websites.
In respect of the LDA, it is pursuing a twin-track approach of accelerating near term construction of affordable homes on both State and private land, while also working over the longer term to assemble strategic State-owned development sites capable of delivering thousands of new homes. Details of the work that the LDA is progressing on public lands, in partnership with local authorities, can be found here;
lda.ie/projects-schemes/.
In addition to the public lands that the LDA is working on, Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints, and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing. The target under Project Tosaigh is the delivery of 5,000 new homes by 2026 for Cost Rental or sale to eligible households under affordable purchase arrangements. The first strand of Project Tosaigh involved an expressions of interest (EOI) process, launched in November 2021. Details of all homes that will be made available under Project Tosaigh will be confirmed when commercial agreements are finalised. Details of the initiative can be found at the following link;
lda.ie/home-building-partnership/
Additional affordable housing delivery will also be facilitated under the provisions of the expanded 20% Part V requirement as and when they arise, and subject to the planning process.
Operating in tandem with these affordable delivery streams, my Department has launched separate supply measures aimed at addressing issues of viability, vacancy and dereliction in towns and cities, namely the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme and the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund. The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme is intended to support household-ownership in urban centres and are not included ihe Scheme is expected to deliver up to 5,000 additional apartments for individuals seeking to buy a home in the 5 cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. This figure is not included in the Housing for All affordable housing-specific delivery targets.
