Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 127: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to change the Part 5 provisions relating to social and affordable housing or if the schemes will continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19206/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

On 16 June I launched the Government's new housing policy statement which will serve as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of fundamental principles and goals that will form the foundation of a substantial reform programme, the new framework for housing policy responds to current and emerging conditions in the housing sector, taking account of the dramatic cycle of rapid growth and sudden collapse in the residential property market. The centrepiece of the approach is to chart a way forward for housing policy in Ireland by placing greater emphasis on: choice; equity across housing tenures; and delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested.

The policy statement also announces the standing down of all affordable housing schemes, including shared ownership, in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000. Affordable housing schemes were introduced to bridge the affordability gap that emerged during the boom years, preventing middle income households from realising their ownership aspirations. However, affordable housing did nothing to address the underlying problem – market overheating with an unsustainable gap between prices and incomes. Affordable housing was therefore a symptom of a market failure and not a solution to it.

In addition, affordability has eased to such an extent that there is little or no demand for affordable housing. Indeed, in recent years the challenge has been to deploy existing affordable stock productively rather than deliver new affordable housing. While there may be localised affordability challenges in the future, particularly in areas where supply is short and demand is likely to return relatively quickly, any such affordable housing scheme as may be necessary in the future will have a broader tenure focus than in the past.

The Government is committed to supporting access to home ownership for lower income households and a range of paths to home ownership will remain in place in that regard. These include the incremental purchase scheme, the availability of loan finance from local authorities for house purchase, including open market purchase, and the tenant purchase scheme.