Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minster with responsibility for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is very focused on delivering affordable housing schemes in key urban areas. As the Minster of State shares a constituency with me, he will be very aware of the need for a similar scheme in six or seven counties, namely, a sustainable house-building programme. County Longford will obviously be one of those. The average price for a standard three-bedroom, semi-detached starter home should be €229,000 whereas the average price of a house sold locally is only €122,000. The reason is that it is not commercially viable for builders to build houses in these counties at the moment. In County Longford it has been almost 12 years since we last had a three-bedroom, semi-detached house built commercially. In the intervening 12 years, the local authority estimates it has turned down more than 500 applicants for social housing on the basis that their income has exceeded the threshold. That means they earn too much to qualify for social housing supports yet they will be unable, in all likelihood, to secure mortgages. I am working with countless couples in such a bind. They are working hard, trying to save for a deposit for a house that will not, in all likelihood, materialise because the supply simply is not there.

Just 140 houses were built in County Longford last year and more than half of those were for social housing. I appreciate that we got things wrong in the noughties when nearly 4,000 houses were built in the county in the four years to 2007. Post-2008, a first-rate team from Longford County Council's engineering department rehabilitated many of these ghost estates and today the local authority housing stock is supplemented by an additional 1,000 houses through leasing and rental support schemes. The housing sector in County Longford and other socioeconomically similar areas needs a cautious and measured intervention. I earnestly hope the Department can roll out such a sustainable house-building programme. Ideally, I envisage the State, through the local authority, providing up to €60,000 of the €229,000 cost of a starter home, which I mentioned, and the applicants could in turn raise their mortgage through the Rebuilding Ireland scheme. This is the type of measured, assured and cautious intervention that will ultimately reinvigorate provincial Ireland.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue we face in society. The Government is absolutely focused on ensuring affordable, quality housing solutions are available to everyone in society and this is reflected in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future. The programme commits to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system through the progression of State-backed affordable housing. This is a key priority of the Minister and since taking office, he has reviewed the situation on the ground with regard to supply, progress to date across affordability measures and options for the expansion of affordable housing delivery.

The statutory basis for the delivery of affordable housing for purchase in the State is Part V of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which was commenced in June 2018. A total of €310 million has been made available under the serviced sites fund to support the delivery of affordable homes by local authorities for purchase under the scheme. The fund subvents the cost of facilitating infrastructure and a maximum funding amount of €50,000 is available per home. On this basis, at least 6,200 more affordable homes to buy or rent can be facilitated by this measure alone. To date, funding of €127 million has been approved in principle to provide infrastructural works and it will support 35 projects delivering 3,200 homes and 14 local authorities.

Serviced sites funding targets affordable interventions in areas where housing affordability is demonstrated as a challenge. To identify this, all local authorities were invited to complete financial economic assessments to confirm whether the provision of affordable homes was required and economically viable. Local authorities were also asked to assess housing affordability more generally within their areas. I advise the Deputy that Longford County Council did not submit an economic case for assessment to the Department at the time. This indicates the local authority did not identify a housing affordability issue in the county at that time. It is incumbent on the Government that funds are directed to and utilised where demand is greatest and where there is a clearly identified need and the potential for delivery under the scheme.

In preparing to reply to this topical debate I looked at new house prices in Longford on daft.ie. It indicates that of the 263 properties for sale in the county 143 of them, or 54%, have an asking price of less than €200,000 and a significant number of these have prices below €100,000. CSO data shows the emergence of a significant new build premium in the home purchase market. In the 12 months to June 2020, the difference between the median sale price of new and existing homes was €104,000, or 44% higher for new properties at national level. It is evident that many prospective purchasers in Longford are choosing to buy homes from existing housing stock rather than paying a new home premium. Notwithstanding the fact that the new build home price quoted by the Deputy would be considered achievable for moderate income earners, I acknowledge there may be challenges for some in purchasing a home in Longford. To support such households, other measures, such as a help to buy scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland home loan, are also available to eligible purchasers. Nationally, to make up the ownership and make it more affordable, as part of the €7 billion July stimulus plan an enhanced version of the help to buy scheme was announced. This will allow first-time buyers purchasing a newly built home or building one themselves to claim back up to €30,000 paid in income tax or DIRT and bank deposit interest over the past four years.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, for the comprehensive overview and I emphasise the issue in Longford is not an affordability one but a sustainability one because we simply cannot get builders to come forward to build houses because it is not commercially viable. For decades to come, we will probably reflect on the Covid-19 period as a watershed moment and it will very much be a case of before and after. One of the biggest shifts certainly has been in lifestyle choices and where people choose to live. If we want to make it easier for couples and families to live in County Longford as it stands we simply do not have the housing stock to fulfil that aspiration. Coming from the same constituency as I do, the Minister of State will comprehend the viability challenge that exists for builders, and if it is a case that we can tweak the existing affordability scheme to foster sustainable house building in counties such as Longford then it will be a major breakthrough in terms of re-energising rural communities and provincial towns.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will ensure the issue of new build viability is examined more, including the provision of serviced sites for local authorities in towns and villages. I thank the Deputy for taking the time to table the issue, which affects so many people in our society and country. To reiterate, I assure him of the firm commitment in the programme for government on affordable housing. I can confirm that housing and its affordability for local populations will be kept under review. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has confirmed to the House his intention to outline his detailed plans for affordable housing in the near future. I know the Deputy has also met him in this regard.

The programme for government has a range of measures and targets specifically in the area of affordability in the housing market through the lifetime of the Government and we envisage that these will be realised.