Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 143: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his Department has carried out an assessment to determine the approximate number and percentage of households which are likely to fall below housing affordability thresholds in the period from 2006 to 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5339/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

My Department has not assessed numbers of households likely to require assistance from affordable housing measures in the period 2006 to 2010. However, local authorities, in drawing up their housing strategies, estimate the proportion of need for new households in their area that would fall below a common affordability threshold.

Housing strategies are an important tool in assessing overall housing demand. They inform decisions on the requirements for zoned and serviced land within development plans and the need for affordable and social housing. Action plans for social and affordable housing programmes developed by local authorities for the period 2004 to 2008 reflect needs identified in their housing strategies. A mid-term review of plans will be undertaken this year and will enable authorities to take account of any change in their housing needs identified in their assessment of housing needs or in reviews of their housing strategies.

The Government has actively addressed the issue of housing affordability. Our policy has been to make housing supply more responsive to demand to improve affordability and access to housing, particularly for first time buyers. There is clear evidence that this policy is having an effect; 2005 was the eleventh year of record overall house completions, with more than 80,000 completions. Increased investment has resulted in some 100,000 households benefiting from the range of targeted social and affordable housing measures since 1997.

In addition to planning, taxation and other measures such as mortgage interest relief, the Government has placed a particular emphasis on targeted affordable housing measures which are designed to assist those who cannot access affordable housing without assistance. These include the shared ownership scheme, the 1999 affordable housing scheme, affordable housing through Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2004 and the affordable housing initiative in Sustaining Progress. We will streamline these schemes to make them simpler to implement and understand but, in the meantime, eligibility and subsidy levels under the various schemes were increased in January this year. About 15,000 households will benefit under these measures in the next three years.

In addition, the affordable homes partnership, which we established last year, is already making good progress in its efforts to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, where the problem is most acute. The recently launched housing policy framework, Building Sustainable Communities, will ensure that we build on our achievements to date, continue to create the conditions where housing output will meet demand and provide targeted support for those with affordability problems.