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

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I will try to address some of their queries and issues before making my statement.

Deputy O’Callaghan again asked a broad question about whether Housing for All was working. We believe it is. It is taking time, but it is delivering positive results. The Deputy also raised the issue of relationship breakdown. It is a reality and has an impact on housing need. Its fallout is something that local authorities must try to help with it in terms of housing provision.

Deputy Boyd Barrett said we were trumpeting our success. We certainly are not. We are outlining the successes and achievements of Housing for All to date. The facts speak for themselves and I will outline them in my closing.

The Deputy again raised the issue of investors buying up apartment blocks. We introduced significant measures in May 2021 to discourage the inappropriate bulk purchasing of houses, including taxation, planning and other measures like a higher 10% stamp duty levy on the cumulative purchase of ten or more residential properties, excluding apartments, in a 12-month period.

Deputy Harkin raised issues around the Housing Commission’s report. The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, will publish that report. Regarding the figure of 256,000 homes, we have had a significant population increase and considerable inward migration. This is a country with full employment and an attractive country in which to live. The Deputy raised the issue of regional imbalance previously.

Deputy Connolly again raised the issue of HAP in Galway. We note her points.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae made some incredible points about the Green Party objecting to housing. I do not know where he got all of that from. He raised issues about planning objections, but the ability to comment on planning applications is a cornerstone of our planning system. A significant planning Bill that will streamline that process is making its way through the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has brought in significant reforms to An Bord Pleanála, as well as additional resourcing.

Deputy Mattie McGrath made an absolutely disgraceful comment in relation to disbanding An Taisce. The Deputy seems to have an issue with a prescribed body and its important role in the planning system. It was an utterly disgraceful comment from him.

Deputy Wynne raised specific issues and a couple of queries regarding County Clare. I will revert to her in relation to those, if that is okay.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I echo the comments made by the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and reassert the Government's commitment to tackling the challenges in the housing sector. We know these challenges are having a real impact on people's lives and the nation as a whole. We understand the urgency and need to ensure that people have safe, secure and affordable homes. We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge and we are putting in the work, day in, day out, to address the challenges and implement policies to steer the country out of this housing crisis.

Deputy Ó Broin's motion coupled with recent commentary do not fairly represent the efforts and progress the Government has made. The Deputy made the point that we need to increase affordable purchase and cost-rental accommodation. On this, we agree. The Government is doing just that. We delivered over 4,000 affordable solutions in 2023, more than doubling our activity only one year earlier, in 2022. It is important to note that in 2022, from a standing start, we delivered the first affordable homes in a generation. Our ambition is to deliver much more. It is imperative that we work with the local authorities and other delivery partners and redouble our efforts to deliver affordable housing via the fully funded and legislatively underpinned Housing for All plan and the schemes that are already up and running successfully.

Affordable housing is now being delivered across the country, with this momentum continuing into this year and beyond. It is the Government's intention that affordable housing will begin delivering on a much wider scale. We have already seen this happening, with the LDA having advertised applications for 600 new cost-rental apartments across four locations in Dublin and Kildare, through Project Tosaigh, in January of this year. In my constituency, Carlow and Kilkenny county councils have both received approval for their first affordable housing projects, which will be supported by the Affordable Housing Fund and will see much-needed affordable homes delivered in areas of the highest affordability need. Approved housing bodies are also active in this area, with one AHB approved for funding through support under the cost-rental equity loan to deliver 25 much-needed cost-rental homes in Kilkenny.

Deputy Ó Broin mentioned increasing rents but did not mention that over 1,600 cost-rental homes have already been delivered by the Government and that there are a further 1,400 in the pipeline. The Deputy neglected to mention that over €675 million of cost-rental equity loan funding will support the delivery of 3,250 cost-rental homes by AHBs. He neglected to mention the secure tenancy affordable rental scheme introduced by the Government with a commitment of €750 million in capital funding to support the delivery of cost-rental homes. He stated the Government was not doing enough, but it is clear that in the implementation of Housing for All, we have securely laid the foundation and built the pipeline that will allow us to continue to ramp up delivery in the coming years.

Housing for All includes a comprehensive suite of measures that address the viability gap and improve the affordability of housing. Two such measures are the help-to-buy and first home shared equity schemes. The first home scheme, in particular, has proven to be a key support for first-time buyers. This scheme continues to support first-time buyers and other eligible home buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market. In addition, since September 2023, the first home scheme has supported those who wish to build their own home. There were 809 approvals and 262 homes purchased under the first home scheme in quarter 1 of 2024 alone, and approvals are up 38% compared with quarter 1 of 2023. The Government has also recently committed to provide an additional €40 million to continue to drive affordable ownership for our citizens.

With regard to the help-to-buy scheme, to date, 47,596 claims have been made, of which 46,599 have been approved. This is a particularly well understood and well functioning scheme that is crucial to those first-time buyers who are struggling to save for a deposit. Recognising this, the Government has agreed to extend the scheme to the end of 2025.

We hear much commentary about housing targets being too low. Housing for All is an evidence-based living policy that is agile by design. It is under continuous review and when the research currently being undertaken by the ESRI is presented to the Government, the targets set out in Housing for All will be updated. The Taoiseach reiterated this earlier today. Setting the targets is one thing but building homes is another. Since taking office, the Government has delivered unprecedented levels of new homes, including the ramping up of affordable housing delivery. We are not stopping there.

With record levels of commencements and planning permissions granted, the progress made since the publication of Housing for All is evident. The most important action is to build new homes and we have exceeded the Housing for All overall targets to date. Almost 33,000 new homes were built in 2023 alone, with more than 109,000 new homes being built between 2020 and the end of quarter 1 of 2024. We are seeing further growth again this year as the plan and many initiatives have gained firm footing. Underpinned by rebounding planning permissions in 2023 and a surge in commencements this year on the back of the Government's development levy waiver, more than 18,000 new homes commenced in April, with some 53,000 homes having started on-site in the year to the end of April. Strong first-time buyer activity is reflected in mortgage approval and mortgage drawdown activity in 2023 and 2024 to date. The more than 30,400 first-time buyer approvals in 2023 represented an increase of 9% on the previous year.

Accompanying this increased activity has been record growth in mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers in 2023, with some 25,600 mortgages drawn down in the period, the highest annual level since 2007. This represented some 500 first-time buyer drawdowns every week in 2023. Supporting this record delivery, the Government is providing €5.1 billion in capital investment in 2024, the highest level of funding for housing in the history of the State, to accelerate the delivery of new homes and increase the supply necessary to reduce homelessness and moderate house and rental prices.

I reiterate Housing for All is working. In its countermotion, the Government reflects these realities and makes a clear commitment to the core principles that everybody should have access to good quality housing to purchase or rent. We have achieved much since the plan was published but we know there is still a long road ahead. We recognise that there are still significant challenges. We will continue to do everything in our power to increase housing supply, address affordability challenges and ensure homes are delivered for our children and grandchildren and the generations to come.

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