Ms AnnMarie Farrelly:

I thank the Chair and members for the invitation to address them today. We have a good track record in Fingal of delivering social homes for the county. Since 2019, we have delivered in excess of 5,000 units. Of those, 847 were direct build and the figures for other forms of social housing can be seen in the paper we submitted. Looking ahead then in terms of Housing for All we are committed to increasing our social housing delivery. We work with all delivery partners to ensure that housing is available for everybody in society.

As part of the Housing for All plan, we have developed a housing action plan 2022 to 2026. It sets out the details of all social housing delivery for the next five years. It summarises the current and projected housing delivery which will be delivered to meet the targets set for the council by the Department. The table provided outlines the delivery targets for 2022 to 2026. That is a total of 3,640 units over those years and 3,286 of those are to be direct build.

The council plans to deliver a total of 361 new build social homes this year and that is against a target of 360. It is committed to delivering the target of 690 new builds for 2023 and targets of more than 700 new build social homes for the subsequent years up to 2026. Fingal County Council has been proactive in the delivery of social housing and over the past three years the council has provided housing solutions for more than 5,000 families. This has been through a range of delivery mechanisms, including new build, leasing and the housing assistance payment, HAP.

Having said that, the last few years have challenging. Covid-19 has hampered the building of new houses. It has caused disruption to the construction sector and hindered supply chains. The high construction price inflation and market uncertainty have also impacted housing delivery. However, Fingal County Council is committed to delivering good quality social and affordable homes for our citizens and to achieving all the targets set out.

To meet the significant challenges of delivery set out in the Housing for All plan, the council has an ambitious housing construction programme delivering both social and affordable housing on its own land banks. The table provided sets out the projected pipeline to 2026. In the period 2015 to 2021, 536 social housing units were built on council land. Moving ahead, the pipeline is 1,933. That includes a combination of construction on site and those that are in the planning stage and in the pre-planning stage.

Part V delivery continues to be an important delivery mechanism. A total of 405 new social homes were delivered under Part V in the period 2019 to 2021. A further 116 dwellings are in the pipeline to be delivered in 2022. There are currently a total of 609 active construction sites across the county with a total of 2,932 units under construction. New Part V social homes will be coming from those private sites. The future social housing provision of Part V is dependent on delivery by the private construction sector.

In advance of the introduction of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and the regulations, Fingal devised a pilot affordable scheme at Dun Emer in Lusk, delivering 39 affordable and 12 social homes. These homes are scheduled to be delivered by year end. The next development will be on site in Hayestown, Rush, in the coming weeks delivering 52 affordable and ten social homes. The first phase of delivery on our major land bank at Church Fields, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, is currently at procurement stage. This phase will deliver 108 affordable purchase and 80 cost-rental homes.

There are four cost rental schemes approved under the cost rental equity loan, CREL, scheme being delivered by our affordable housing body, AHB, partners. These schemes are scheduled to deliver 14 cost-rental homes this year and 170 in 2023. Working with our partners in the Land Development Agency and the approved housing bodies, it is expected that more than 3,000 affordable homes will be delivered in Fingal in the period 2022 to 2026. The table provided outlines this projected delivery by each partner. That is a total of 3,079 units.

The delivery of accommodation for older persons is a priority for the council. A scheme of 30 apartments specifically designed for older people was delivered last year in partnership with Fold Housing. A further 31 homes will be under construction by Tuath Housing on the council owned land bank in Lusk this year. The council is currently drafting a pilot right-sizing scheme which will accommodate both social and private homeowners.

The preliminary census 2022 data indicates that Fingal has the second lowest vacancy rate in the country at 4.28%. It is likely that many of these properties will not be vacant when the data is further analysed. Since 2019, a total of 70 privately-owned properties have been brought back into occupancy. That is through the repair and lease scheme, the buy and renew scheme, compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, and through the private market.

The council also recognises the Croí Cónaithe scheme, particularly the refurbishment grant scheme of a maximum of €50,000 which will bring some of those properties back into use. The council has a full-time vacant homes officer in place since April 2022. The officer and the team will deal with the 85 vacant or potentially vacant, private dwellings that are at the various states of investigation, engagement or action. Some of the properties are in the process of going through probate or conveyancing or may be subject to repair or form part of a planning application. The council is actively tracking the progress with these properties and expects they will return to occupancy as the various processes reach conclusion. The council’s vacant homes officer will also be participating in a pilot project with the Department and five other local authorities around the data on potential vacant properties across the country.

Fingal County Council assesses dereliction in accordance with the Derelict Sites Act 1990. There are currently six sites with 17 properties on the derelict sites register. The council continues to pursue dereliction by way of engagement with owners and occupiers, the issuing of statutory notices and the placement of sites on the register. As a result, the council has engagement with the owners of all these sites. The council hopes to be in a position to remove three of the six sites from the register in the near future. The use of the register will continue as a means to engage with owners and occupiers to deal with matters around dereliction and the return of properties to use.

Fingal County Council continues to build on its good track record of delivering both social and affordable housing. As outlined above, there is a significant pipeline already in place and together with our delivery partners we are committed to delivering the target 6,532 social and affordable homes as set out in the housing action plan.