Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the affordable home scheme; the number of sites identified; the timeframe for delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23883/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Affordable housing for purchase is being provided under Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

Under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF), €310 million is being made available over the 2019 to 2021 period to support the delivery of infrastructure on local authority sites, which will deliver over 6,000 affordable homes. The first call for proposals under the SSF in June 2018 was targeted at 11 local authorities where it was identified that the greatest affordability pressures exist. I issued approval in December 2018 for funding for 10 infrastructure projects in Dublin and Cork, costing €43 million, which will support the delivery of 1,400 affordable homes. The overall cost and timing of delivery for these projects is contingent upon the completion of planning and procurement in the first instance, and local authorities are working to achieve delivery as quickly as possible, with the first tranche of affordable homes expected to be delivered next year.

Following the first call under the SSF, all local authorities were requested to submit economic assessments to ascertain if the provision of affordable homes was appropriate in their areas. A second call for proposals under the SSF issued to 19 local authorities on 9 April 2019, based on these economic assessments. In response, 30 submissions were received from 15 local authorities and these are currently being assessed by my Department. I intend to issue approvals under this second call in the coming weeks.