Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 18, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Thursday, 30 May. The committee is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, 11 July. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and the programme for Government commitments regarding housing. At almost the mid-way point of the year, we are confident that the significant increase in the delivery of new homes in recent years will continue throughout this year. Over 5,800, or 5,841 to be specific, new homes were completed in the first quarter and construction has started on more than 51,935 new homes in the 12 months to the end of May. The development levy waiver and Uisce Éireann connection charge rebate, introduced last year and recently extended, have, in my view, helped to fast-track greater activity and have made more housing projects viable.

The future delivery pipeline is also strong. Planning permission was granted for almost 38,000 new homes in the year to the end of quarter 1 of 2024. There are now 22,000 new social homes at various stages of design and construction. On State lands, building continues apace on sites in Cork and Dublin, with many more large-scale housing developments proceeding to planning or construction later this year and in the years ahead. The affordability initiatives under Housing for All are continuing to make homeownership a reality for thousands more of our citizens. Over 4,000 individuals and couples have availed of the first home scheme since its launch. There were over 800 approvals in quarter 1 of this year, an increase of almost 40% compared with the same three months last year. So far in 2024, there have been 3,500 claims under the help-to-buy scheme, which is an increase of 28% on the same period in the previous year. The success of these schemes is also evident in the first-time buyer mortgage data, which shows that 6,522 approvals and 4,921 drawdowns, respectively, were recorded in the first quarter of this year.

Tackling vacancy and dereliction must remain a continuing focus for us all. Some 8,100 applications have now been received for the vacant property refurbishment grant, with over 5,000 approved and 375 grants drawn down nationwide. To further extend its reach, the Government recently approved an extension of the local authority home loan to support both the purchase and renovation of homes which are eligible under the grant. We are also making progress on key reforms, including the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which completed Report Stage on 12 June and is due to commence in the Seanad on 27 June. The Bill, once enacted, will enable house building at scale and the development of critical infrastructure at pace. The draft first revision of the national planning framework, which will be published for public consultation shortly, will be accompanied by the completed peer-reviewed research undertaken by the ESRI on structural housing demand.

Work is already ongoing to translate this demand into revised Housing for All targets, including tenure-specific breakdowns from 2025 onwards. These targets will be published this autumn and the annual update to Housing for All will be focused on scaling up delivery to achieve those revised targets. It will also consider a number of the recent recommendations from the report of the Housing Commission. That report has been sent to the Housing Agency to analyse in terms of costings, timelines and prioritisation. Finally, the Housing for All quarter 2 progress report will be published in July.

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