Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

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. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, recently approved a further round of cost-rental equity loan applications to allow approved housing bodies, AHBs, to 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 about €400 million. It will support first-time buyers on moderate incomes to buy a new-build home and will be available for applications in quarter 2.

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 been issued by local authorities and the LDA to enter advance purchase agreements.

Finally, a new local authority home loan scheme commenced on 4 January of this year 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.

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