Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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148. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will provide evidence for the statement made to Westmeath County Council by the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English (details supplied). [27662/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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It is estimated that from the aggregation of factors arising from measures taken to reduce housing input costs, including the package of interim measures on housing supply, entitled Stabilising Rents – Boosting Supplywhich wasapproved by the Government in November 2015, a decrease in the cost of building new residential units by between €20,000 and €40,000 can be achieved, depending on whether apartments or houses are being constructed. The main contributing factors involved are:

- the implementation of new apartment guidelines, The Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments - Guidelines for Planning Authoritiespublished in December 2015;

- reforms to the Part V process;

- reductions in development contributions and a targeted development contribution rebate scheme in Dublin and Cork to encourage large-scale developments at affordable prices, and

- the new Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund.