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For Oral Answer on : 25/01/2022
Question Number(s): 70 Question Reference(s): 3083/22
Department: Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Asked by: David Stanton T.D.
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QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the progress made by his Department to date in increasing the supply of affordable housing with reference to the key objective of the Housing for All plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY
Housing for All commits to delivering 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes by 2030. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 established two separate affordable purchase schemes and a new form of tenure in Cost Rental which saw the first 65 homes tenanted in 2021.
The target delivery for affordable homes in 2022 is 4,100. Minister O’Brien recently approved a further round of Cost Rental Equity Loan applications to allow Approved Housing Bodies deliver over 700 new homes this year. This will be further supported by the LDA provision of Cost Rental Homes under Project Tosaigh.
The First Home affordable purchase scheme will operate for the period 2022 to 2026 utilising funding of c.€400m. It will support first-time buyers on moderate incomes to buy a new-build home and will be available for applications in Q2.
Despite the impacts of Covid-19 on the construction sector, the first local authority affordable purchase homes will be available in Cork shortly. In addition and to scale up the delivery of affordable homes and kick-start stalled private developments, expressions of interest have also been issued by local authorities and the LDA to enter advance purchase agreements.
Finally the new Local Authority Home Loan scheme commenced on 4 January 2022 as a successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. This scheme incorporates a lower interest rate, higher income eligibility and more flexible home size requirements than previously applied.
