Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 64, 65, 75, 87, 90, 94, 98, 114 and 120 together.

The new affordable purchase scheme will be governed by the relevant provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which will soon be commenced. It will be targeted at households with annual gross income of below €50,000 for a single applicant or €75,000 for joint applicants. The maximum discount permissible under the Act is 40% and the sale prices will vary, depending on costs, the discount given and other relevant factors.

Once the relevant legislative provisions are commenced, I will develop detailed regulations covering the operation of the scheme, including the full eligibility criteria.  The elected members of each local authority will then determine the order of priority for the sale of affordable homes to eligible households.

The new scheme will see local authorities taking a fully repayable equity share, to the value of the discount given, in all homes that are sold. Importantly, this will provide for a sustainable funding stream for affordable homes into the future. The funds arising from repayment of the equity shares will be recycled into the provision of more affordable housing through the establishment of an affordable dwellings fund, which will be managed by the Housing Finance Agency.

I anticipate that there is significant potential for the delivery of affordable homes on local authority lands.  Following the housing summit on 22 January, I asked local authority chief executives to submit, by mid-February, an outline of their respective affordable housing programmes, with a particular emphasis on Dublin, Galway, and Cork, where there is currently the greatest affordability gap, notwithstanding Limerick and the importance that both Deputy Jan O'Sullivan and I placed on it in our earlier discussion.

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