Seanad debates
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Housing Provision
10:30 am
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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This Commencement matter relates to affordable housing in Kinsale. It is a wonderful part of the world that has been blessed in many ways by history and geography. It is the second biggest town in Cork South-West. Its population increased by 13.6% between the two most recent censuses, compared with an average of 8.1% nationally. The population is now almost 6,000 people. It is a significant town, particularly in the context of the size of west Cork.
An affordable housing scheme is very much required in the town. Unfortunately, Kinsale probably has the highest property prices in Munster. It is a premium location. There is great demand for property in the area. We need an affordable housing scheme to be put in place to benefit the people of Kinsale and the surrounding areas. Affordable housing just does not exist in Kinsale. Sites with an existing property that is to be knocked down in order for a new house to be built are being sold for €500,000. That is happening continuously throughout the Kinsale hinterland as a result of the location. It is a unique and beautiful location.
The site in question was bought in 2001.It is where we built the community complex Saile and there has in recent years been a social housing development of 40 houses, but the majority of the site has not been developed since 2001. It is a significant site in the heart of the town that has the potential to deliver more than 112 units of affordable housing for the people of Kinsale and the surrounding area. The scheme is very much needed and wanted in the location but we need movement on the proposal.
I am looking for timelines for when the housing development will be built, how many houses are going to be part of it and, as is always a big issue in towns, what the projected cost will be or how we can evaluate it. Significant schemes have been put in place through Rebuilding Ireland, such as the shared ownership scheme, and we have over recent years changed the model for how to purchase a house. I hope all those schemes can be used, not least in the context of this development of 100-plus houses for the Kinsale area. When we look at developments in County Cork, this is the premier location for trying to get an affordable housing scheme up and running, and it really is a gap in the market. We have in many ways seen a roll-out of social housing throughout the county, in locations from Bandon to Clonakilty and all the way to Bantry, but the lack of an affordable housing scheme of this nature and size is obvious, so we need to move forward with the proposal if we can. Any clarity the Minister of State can give regarding when the potential for these houses can be made realised would be of great benefit to the people of Kinsale.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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To clarify, is the site the Senator is referring to in respect of 112 affordable purchase homes also referred to as Cammogue?
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. I was afraid we might have been talking about two different places and I would not like that.
I am happy to update the House on this matter, noting that, in line with the Affordable Housing Act 2021, responsibility for the administration of affordable housing schemes rests with the local authority concerned, in this case Cork County Council. Kinsale is an absolutely place but it is not just for people who can afford very expensive sites or houses. Ireland is for everybody and Kinsale is certainly for everybody, and it is important that there be affordable housing there and that everybody can enjoy living there as much as anywhere else.
The Housing for All Strategy is delivering on the programme for Government commitment to stepping up the housing supply and putting homeownership and affordability at the heart of the housing system. The overall ambition is to increase the supply of housing by delivering 300,000 homes for social, affordable and cost-rental, private rental and private ownership housing purposes over the nine-year period of the plan. Approximately 54,000 affordable home interventions will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks. Funding is made available by the Government to assist local authorities in the delivery of affordable housing for purchase and rent through the affordable housing fund and the cost rental equity loan.
The target for Cork County Council for the delivery of affordable housing from 2022 to 2026 is 189 affordable purchase and cost-rental units in the five-year period to 2026. Cork county has shown a strong commitment to affordable housing delivery and has a comprehensive affordable housing delivery programme in place, which will see it meet and exceed its Housing for All target. Its housing delivery action plan, published on the council’s official website, has identified a new housing need with an affordability constraint of 7.2% of new households throughout the county and outlined the council's proposals to deliver 682 affordable dwellings by 2026. Funding approval is in place under the affordable housing fund to assist with the development costs of 649 affordable homes. These will be predominantly affordable purchase homes, including 111 cost-rental units. Implementation of the delivery programme is advancing well, as the Senator will know better than I. Cork county has successfully delivered the first phase of homes for affordable purchase at Clonmore, Mallow, and is advertising further affordable purchase opportunities at Water’s Edge, Carrigaline, and Cluain Ard, Cobh.
With regard to the development at Cammogue, Kinsale, this is a mixed-tenure scheme of social and affordable houses proposed by Cork County Council as part of a bundle of schemes being procured collectively at various locations within the county. The Cammogue, Kinsale, component will involve the delivery of 112 affordable purchase homes in three phases in 2025 and 2026. My understanding from the Department is that Cork County Council appointed a construction design team earlier this year that will be responsible for undertaking the design process and completing the Part 8 planning approval process. Cork County Council has confirmed the project is progressing broadly in line with that target and that the first phase of affordable homes at this location in Kinsale is expected to be advertised to affordable housing applicants in quarter 4 of 2024, this time next year.
The Department of housing will continue to liaise with Cork County Council in respect of this affordable housing scheme in Kinsale and the local authority’s overall affordability programme. Given the profile of the county, it is also anticipated the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, which includes funding for the vacant property refurbishment grant, a huge opportunity for anybody, and the ready-to-build scheme will also prove invaluable in addressing overall affordability needs in County Cork. The first home scheme is also available to affordable housing candidates nationwide and I understand it has shown significant early signs of take-up in Cork.
As I outlined, we are making progress on delivering on the social and affordable housing targets, although, as the Senator noted, it has been a gap and it is important the Government deliver on that with county councils.
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. Before I call on Senator Lombard, I welcome the students and teachers from Rockbrook Park School in south Dublin. I met them earlier and they are very welcome to Leinster House today.
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive response on the housing scheme in Kinsale. The information I was looking was outlined towards the end of her contribution, whereby the affordable housing scheme is going to be advertised by quarter 4 of 2024. In a year's time, therefore, we will have the first phase of that scheme, which is really positive news for the people of Kinsale. We have been talking, debating and trying to get this scheme over the line for many years. The site was originally bought in 2001, and while there has been a development of a community complex and social housing since then, the news we will be advertising for expressions of interest for some of these properties in the fourth quarter of 2024 is exactly what I wanted to hear. It is important we stick to those timelines, given people in Kinsale have been watching for these houses for a long time. With the first phase delivered, we can then run through the other two phases, which will be very valuable. I thank the Minister of State for the update.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I look forward to seeing the development of the site and the advertisements this time next year, and I am sure we will both keep an eye out to make sure the timeline is met. I look forward also to visiting west Cork and seeing with the Senator the opportunities that may be there for the vacant property refurbishment grant. As Minister of State with responsibility for credit unions, I am keen to see how credit unions can assist with that, perhaps in Skibbereen and elsewhere, to support people in getting a grant, given they are engaging in this work, and how bridging finance may be able to be provided. As we discussed during the debate on the Finance Bill yesterday, it is important that finance be quickly accessible. We have made provision for cheap bridging finance to be made available to credit unions for retrofits and upgrades. People want to invest in their homes and be able to have access to finance, and the credit unions can do a great deal in that regard. I look forward to visiting credit unions in the Senator's area to see how best that can be delivered for the people in his community in west Cork and to look at how the transition of the vacant property refurbishment grant can be financed and supported through the credit union movement as appropriate.