Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1334. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the guidelines for the definition of "affordable housing"; the way in which he came to the conclusion that housing is affordable; the ratio of affordable to social housing under part V; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34839/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the 1999 Affordable Housing Scheme, which is no longer in operation, eligibility was determined on the basis that applicants were in need of housing and could not afford to purchase a house outright on the open market. The income limits under the 1999 Scheme were revised on a number of occasions and in 2010 the annual income limit for a single income household was €40,000, while the annual limit for a two income household was €100,000.

Applicants for affordable housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 satisfied the income eligibility requirement if the mortgage repayments for suitable accommodation available in the market would exceed 35% of their net income.  

In 2011, the Government announced the standing down of Affordable Housing schemes. In relation to Part V, planning authorities have been informed that they should prioritise the acquisition of social houses on-site when making Part V agreements.

The Government recognises the housing affordability pressures in certain areas.  Fundamentally, it is the under-supply, across all tenures of housing, that is widely accepted as being primarily responsible for driving the high levels of house price and rental inflation we have seen in recent years.  The Government has made housing a top priority and, through the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, has a framework in place to deliver an increase and acceleration in the supply of high quality social and affordable homes, to buy or rent,  particularly in the major urban areas where demand is greatest. 

The overarching objective of Rebuilding Ireland is to increase overall housing supply to 25,000 homes per year by 2020.  In order to directly influence and generate supply of new homes, Rebuilding Ireland contains a suite of actions that will increase housing construction and refurbishment.  Under Pillar 2 of the Action Plan, 47,000 new social housing units will be delivered by 2021, supported by €5.35 billion in Exchequer funding.  Of these, 26,000 units will be provided through direct construction and refurbishment. Significant progress has been made in increasing the build programmes of local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies and there are now over 10,000 new homes in the social housing construction pipeline.

Pillar 3 of Rebuilding Ireland contains a set of actions targeted at increasing private housing supply. The €226m Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund has now been fully allocated and will fund key enabling infrastructure to open up 34 sites across 15 local authorities. The LIHAF funding has the capacity to encourage the supply of 23,000 new homes by 2021.

Also under Pillar 3, the State land bank is being actively targeted for the provision of new homes in the immediate term. In April, the Rebuilding Ireland Map was published, containing details of over 2,000 hectares of land in public ownership, with the potential to deliver some 50,000 new homes nationally.  In practical terms, the development of these public lands will involve accelerating social housing delivery and securing more homes for sale and rent at lower and more affordable price points.

Rebuilding Ireland also commits to the introduction of an affordable rental scheme to enhance the provision of affordable accommodation for households currently paying a disproportionate amount of disposable income on rent. As set out in the Strategy for the Rental Sector, this commitment is now to be progressed through kick-starting supply in rent pressure zones.  Lands held by local authorities in such zones are to be brought to market on a competitive tendering basis, with a view to leveraging the value of the land to deliver the optimum number of units for rent, and in particular targeting middle-income households, in mixed-tenure developments.

As the Deputy will be aware, a focussed review of Rebuilding Ireland is now underway, with an emphasis on strengthening the measures already in place and identifying new initiatives that add value and raise ambition. As part of the review process, my Department will focus in particular on the broad issues of housing supply and affordability for different market segments, building on the measures already being advanced.