John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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243. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps he is taking and the progress made in developing an off-balance sheet cost rental accommodation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7151/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Acknowledging that renters in Dublin and other major urban centres are currently facing significant access and affordability challenges, the Government is committed to the introduction of a not-for-profit, cost rental sector in Ireland. Together with delivering more affordable and predictable rents, cost rental can make a sustainable impact on national competitiveness and the attractiveness of our main urban centres as places to live and work.

To support the introduction of affordable housing, including cost rental, the Government has made €310m available to local authorities to fund facilitating infrastructure, under the Serviced Sites Fund, over the next three years.

Two path-finder cost rental projects are currently being progressed. Firstly, the Housing Agency, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and two Approved Housing Bodies are working on a project at the Enniskerry Road, Dublin, which will deliver 50 cost rental homes. The second project, at St. Michael’s Estate, Emmet Road in Inchicore can deliver up to 330 cost rental homes. It is expected that the tender for the Enniskerry Road project will be awarded and the Urban Design Development Framework Plan for St. Michaels will be completed, later in Quarter 1, 2019.

My Department is also working with the European Investment Bank to leverage its advisory and research capacity so that broader international lessons on the operation of cost rental can inform Ireland's approach. In addition, the Land Development Agency is examining the potential to deliver cost rental homes at scale from it’s land port-folio and the broader State land-bank.