Thursday, 20 Feb 2025

Written Answers Nos. 249-257

Housing Schemes

Ceisteanna (249)

Conor D McGuinness

Ceist:

249. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the applications received by his Department from Waterford City and County Council for social, affordable and cost rental housing developments in each year since 2019, providing the year of application, type and quantity of each proposed development, current status, and where appropriate year of final approval by his Department, in tabular form. [6977/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

My Department does not collate information on applications received. This information may be available from Waterford City and County Council directly.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q3 2024, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/ . Data for Q4 2024 is currently being collated and will be published in due course.

In addition my Department publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR), which provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes.

The most recent publication was for Quarter 3 2024. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/

A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis by local authority, location etc. at this link: https://data.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q3-2024

Under Housing for All, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. This Plan sets out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. Waterford City and County Council's Plan has been published on their own website at the following link: www.waterfordcouncil.ie/documents/housing-delivery-action-plan/

As detailed under Housing for All, the Government plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes, by 2030. A comprehensive implementation strategy is in place to support the various affordable housing schemes now being delivered by a range of delivery partners.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is available to all local authorities to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified. My Department, the Housing Agency and Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office of the Local Government Management Association continue to be available to assist local authorities in relation to ongoing development of their affordable housing delivery programmes.

To date in Waterford, 6 schemes have received AHF approval for the delivery of 232 affordable purchase and 22 cost rental homes, including 92 affordable purchase homes at Kilbarry, Waterford delivered in conjunction with the LDA’s market engagement initiative, Project Tosaigh. One further scheme has been approved under the Cost Rental Equity Loan which will deliver 49 AHB Cost Rental homes.

In addition, other measures such as the First Home Scheme, the Local Authority Home Loan, the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Scheme, the Help to Buy Incentive, and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant are also available in Waterford to help make home ownership more affordable.

Fire Service

Ceisteanna (250, 251)

Conor D McGuinness

Ceist:

250. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications made by each local authority under the fire service capital programme for each year from 2014 to 2024, in tabular form. [6978/25]

Conor D McGuinness

Ceist:

251. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding provided by his Government to each local authority under the fire service capital programme, for each year from 2014 to 2024, in tabular form. [6979/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Question No. 67 answered with Question No. 66.

A deferred reply was issued to the Deputy under Standing Orders.

Fire Service Capital Programme 2014 - 2024

Question No. 251 answered with Question No. 250.

Heritage Projects

Ceisteanna (252)

Conor D McGuinness

Ceist:

252. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans he and his Department have in place to address the capacity issues affective storage of priceless historic artefacts and archives, including the risk that current rental storage space will soon no longer be available; the engagement he has had with the National Archives, National Museum of Ireland, and other bodies in relation to this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6981/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The responsibility for the provision of suitable buildings for the storage of the national collections lies with the Office of Public Works and the Department of Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, which has responsibility for the National Cultural Institutions referenced. I can confirm, however, that a new twenty year lease has recently been agreed for the Cultural Resource Centre referred to. The care of the national collections is under the remit of each of the individual National Cultural Institutions. The National Monuments Service and the National Museum of Ireland continue to engage closely on various matters of shared responsibility under the National Monuments Act 1930 to 2014, in particular the management of material discovered as a result of development-led archaeology and its associated archives.

Regeneration Projects

Ceisteanna (253, 254, 255)

Joe Neville

Ceist:

253. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline for when the next round of urban regeneration and development funding or equivalent funding will be announced. [7016/25]

Joe Neville

Ceist:

254. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider an organisation (details supplied) to be a part of the next round urban regeneration and development funding or equivalent funding when it is announced. [7017/25]

Joe Neville

Ceist:

255. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total value of allocated urban regeneration and development fund funding that has been allocated to Kildare. [7018/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.

To date, there have been three rounds of funding provided under the URDF, with approximately €1.9 billion allocated so far. While Call 1 and 2 were for specific regeneration projects, the latest round of funding (Call 3) is supporting a programme of acquisitions in each local authority to address long term vacancy and dereliction. Under Call 1 and Call 2, there were 132 proposals, comprising of more than 400 individual projects, approved for funding. URDF supported projects are now active in every local authority area in the country.

In regards to Kildare County Council, €21,929,032 in URDF support has been provisionally allocated towards their seven successful proposals approved under Call 1 and Call 2. The Council has also been allocated €7,000,000 towards its Approved Acquisition Programme under Call 3, bringing the total URDF support for Kildare under all three calls to €28,929,032.

In line with the agreed Programme for Government, I intend to continue and expand URDF-type investment in projects as part of the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund, which will allow for investment in infrastructure, the acquisition of land, assembly of sites and the de-risking of sites in existing towns and cities to maximise their potential growth.

The detailed arrangements for the implementation of these funding streams, including the types of projects to be considered, are currently under development in cooperation with stakeholders. I plan to make a further announcement on these funds following completion of the National Development Plan Review, when the level of additional capital funding for infrastructure investment is determined.

My Department will continue to work closely with local authorities in respect of project development under future rounds of funding. It should be noted, however, that responsibility for the composition of any applications for funding and their advancement through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant sponsoring agency (Kildare County Council in this instance).

In the meantime an interactive GIS Story Map site, containing details of all successful URDF projects under Call 1 and Call 2, is available to give elected representatives and members of the public access up to date information on all URDF supported projects at a Local Authority level. The site is available through the URDF site www.gov.ie/URDF or directly via the following link:

www.experience.arcgis.com/experience/98a739a585944cf887f2dffe54c4f129/

Question No. 254 answered with Question No. 253.

Question No. 255 answered with Question No. 253.

Housing Schemes

Ceisteanna (256)

Joe Neville

Ceist:

256. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes scheme; and if a pilot scheme is due to commence in 2025. [7023/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

Legislation is currently being drafted to establish the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Scheme on a statutory basis and subject to the legislative process, the statutory scheme is expected to be in place later this year. The Scheme will provide supports for the remediation of relevant fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. It is envisaged that 100% of eligible remediation costs will be funded under the Scheme.

An Interim Remediation Scheme (IRS) has been in place since December 2023, to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings pending introduction of the Statutory Scheme and completion of the full remedial works. The Interim Remediation Scheme is for the funding of emergency fire safety defect works in apartments and duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013. The administration of this Scheme, under which OMCs can receive funding to carry out the necessary remedial works, is being managed by The Housing Agency on behalf of my Department.

As of the end of January 2025, 195 applications to the IRS have been validated, having met the required eligibility criteria. These applications represent 18,670 residential units, located in 28 local authority areas, with circa 78% in the Dublin region.

To support the implementation and increase the efficiency of the IRS, four pathfinder projects are currently underway. The projects have been selected from applications made to the Scheme, representing 595 residential units. The pathfinder process, which will also inform the development of the Statutory Scheme, is facilitating the design of templates and standards for documents to be prepared by CPs, including procurement arrangements, proposals for fire safety assessments, fire safety risk assessments, interim measures remedial work plans, and other project-related paperwork.

On 22 October 2024 the Government agreed the establishment of a Retrospective Costs Pathfinder Exercise. This exercise will help identify and develop a potential appropriate process to address retrospective issues, based on fire safety remedial works completed. I will brief Cabinet on the outcome of the pathfinder project in due course.

Artificial Intelligence

Ceisteanna (257, 258)

Sinéad Gibney

Ceist:

257. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has taken advice in respect of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Department; if any section of his Department currently makes use of AI; the purposes it is utilised for and costs associated with same; and if he has consulted with any consultancy firms in respect of the use of AI. [7050/25]

Sinéad Gibney

Ceist:

258. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has taken advice in respect of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Department; if any section of his Department currently makes use of AI; the purposes it is utilised for and costs associated with same; and if he has consulted with any consultancy firms in respect of the use of AI. [7057/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I propose to take Questions Nos. 257 and 258 together.

I refer to my reply to Dáil Question No. 472 of 18 January which sets out the position in this matter.