Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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18. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if an affordable housing scheme to guide councils in providing affordable homes and to ensure that affordable homes will remain affordable into the future, even if there is a change of ownership, will be put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45303/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the income limits for households to access affordable housing in his Department's plans such as the local infrastructure housing activation fund, the second LIHAF and local authority support as set out in budget 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45247/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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43. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the affordable housing scheme or assistance to lower income persons and families to purchase a home that his Department is examining; the reason no such proposals were brought forward in budget 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45100/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 42 and 43 together.

Housing affordability has been examined by my Department, in consultation with the Housing Agency, local authorities and other stakeholders as part of the targeted review of Rebuilding Ireland. The examination was carried out under the generally accepted premise that housing is deemed affordable where households, particularly low  or moderate income households, are paying no more than a third of their disposable income on meeting their accommodation needs.

The work took account of the measures already taken to make housing more affordable. These include the streamlined planning system for large-scale housing developments; reduced development contributions; the €226 million LIHAF funding, the impact of Rent Pressure Zones and changes to apartment guidelines in 2015.

It also took account of the additional housing affordability measures contained in Budget 2018. As announced, there will be a second phase of the LIHAF infrastructure fund with an Exchequer contribution of €50 million to unlock additional lands for housing. I also secured funding to put in place a new serviced sites fund of €25 million specifically to deliver affordable housing on local authority sites. The new Home Building Finance Ireland fund is also of importance in terms of addressing the costs of delivering housing as it  will provide finance at commercially competitive rates to developers.

The review is now at an advanced stage and I expect to be in a position to outline the outcome,  including any additional measures, in the coming weeks.