Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his question regarding the application by Limerick City and County Council for a dedicated affordable homes team. In September 2021, the Government published its Housing for All strategy, which sets out plans to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 homes per annum over the next decade. Increasing the supply of affordable housing is a central element of Housing for All, with an ambition to deliver more than 55,000 new affordable and cost-rental homes in the period 2022 to 2030, with 28,730 of those homes being delivered over the next five years.

Housing for All is supported by a major investment package of more than €4 billion per annum through an overall combination of €12 billion in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5 billion in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5 billion in funding through the Housing Finance Agency. With the support of the housing delivery co-ordination office in the Local Government Management Agency, the Department undertook a review of the requirements for affordable housing staff resources in 18 local authorities with an identified strong demand for housing from households with an affordability constraint. Limerick City and County Council was one of those councils.

The housing delivery co-ordination office undertook a detailed analysis with each local authority to assess its existing housing delivery capacity and skill set and identified any additional staffing requirements, having regard to the level of affordable housing to be delivered in that local authority. Key consideration has been given to the type of structure and administrative or professional staff necessary to deliver affordable housing, the scale of the delivery programmes and alignment with the additional support provided for social housing delivery earlier in 2022. The staffing required and identified for Limerick is divided into both administrative and professional staffing grades and a higher requirement in most areas for administrative support is acknowledged due to the operation of the various schemes in terms of agreements, engagement with eligible applicants and other, longer term requirements.

Limerick City and County Council has developed a housing delivery action plan to underpin its delivery of social, affordable-purchase and cost-rental housing in the period to 2026. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage recently approved an application by Limerick City and County Council for funding of €1.8 million for 25 affordable homes in Castletroy, Limerick, under the affordable housing fund, which will be delivered in 2023. An application is ongoing with Limerick City and County Council for a dedicated homes team, notice of which the Senator received today. I have no doubt that any additional staff Limerick City and County Council receives will help expedite its efforts to deliver new affordable homes in key locations throughout the city and wider county.