Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House. It is very good to see the progress being made. In the area in which I live, I see progress on the ground. I see houses being built. There are 40 local authority housing units being built at a turnkey development. Galway County Council took that project on. I live in an area where there is a huge demand for housing and for rental properties, which cannot be found anywhere at the moment. We are in dire need. The challenges we face particularly relate to HAP. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has looked at options in the context of supporting families benefiting from HAP. The social housing thresholds in County Galway have increased from €25,000 to €30,000. This is a welcome development. It is probably overdue because it was needed. I welcome that five counties have seen that change in the income thresholds for social housing. The increase means that we are going to see more people coming onto the housing waiting lists but it is much needed because of the cost of rent and everything else. So many families are dealing with receiving HAP and then paying the difference basically for renting homes.

It is absolutely crucial that building happens. We are seeing local authority and social housing being built, but we also need to see a mix of affordable housing and housing for first-time buyers. As Senator Casey mentioned, the first home scheme is absolutely crucial, as are the help-to-buy and Croí Cónaithe schemes. There schemes are particularly focused in rural and regional areas where there are many vacant properties. Dublin city centre may not face the same level of vacancy. The turnover is so fast but rural areas face a situation where many properties are left abandoned for a variety of different reasons. What we want is a thriving property market in rural areas. That means looking at all types of properties and bringing those that are vacant back into use. I would like to see more supports for the Croí Cónaithe scheme. I would also like the scheme to be expanded. It has already been moved out of the town centres to include many adjoining areas. That is a good and positive move forward. It is absolutely crucial to support first home buyers, particularly if they are going to make the houses they purchase their principal residences.

We are trying to get homes to the B2 rating recommended by the Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland by means of retrofitting. There are many supports available, but there is major expense involved. How do we combine all of the programmes relating to retrofitting, the warmer homes scheme, the one-stop shop, and the first home and help-to-buy schemes in order to support first-time buyers?

I am very happy with the rental credit introduced by the Government in the budget in respect of people who are renting. To be clear, the rental credit is for this year, 2022, and next year, 2023.

I mentioned Croí Cónaithe and the first-time buyers scheme. I want to see supports for local authorities. The Minister has brought in housing teams that are allocated to local housing authorities to support them in delivering the strategies relating to Housing for All. Support is needed, particularly in the context of shared equity, the first home scheme and the shared equity programme with local authorities. A person who is living in their home will have access to a shared equity option from the local authority. This will only be returned when the person sells their home or when it is no longer their principal residence. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to get onto the property ladder, but we need supports for the local authorities.

Galway County Council is among the least funded local authorities. It is obliged to deal with - in geographic terms - the second largest area in the country. Along with having thousands of miles of road to maintain, we need to look at the provision of additional houses. This comes back to Croí Cónaithe, vacancy and dereliction and how we support families to be able to get onto the property ladder. Go raibh míle maith agat. I thank the Minister of State for his time.