Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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333. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of the social homes and the number of the affordable homes projected for each year and in total in the new Housing for All plan that will be sourced by means (details supplied); the projected annual and total cost for any housing being provided through these means in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43926/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. The table below sets out the annual targets for the delivery of a total of 88,400 new build social homes and 53,800 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2030.  These figures include homes delivered through Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, however an annual breakdown is not available at this time.

In addition, a total of 3,500 new social homes will be secured through long-term leasing, a significant number of which relate to schemes initiated before the publication of Housing for All. Long-term leasing will be ended under Housing for All and there will be no new homes delivered through long-term leasing after 2025. There will also be a limited number of social homes delivered through acquisitions, with current projections limiting acquisitions to 200 new social homes per annum. These acquisitions will generally be targeted at specific needs, including for homeless households, age friendly housing and housing for individuals with disabilities.

Specific targets for the Housing Assistance Payment or Rental Accommodation Scheme are not included in Housing for All. However, given the numbers of households in need of housing supports, it will be necessary to continue to provide social housing through the Housing Assistance Payment to ensure households can secure social housing immediately. As the numbers of new build social homes increases under Housing for All, there will be a reduced reliance on the Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4b per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency (LDA) and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency. Details of the Exchequer element of funding for social and affordable housing will be published each year as part of the annual estimates process.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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334. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current estimated average cost of directly built local authority or AHB public and affordable housing on publicly owned land, providing the estimated cost for one, two, three and four-bed housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43927/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The cost of constructing new homes is dependent on a range of variables, such as the location, the scale of the development and the size and type of the homes involved. My Department assesses, approves and records local authority social housing delivery on a project basis, rather than on the basis of individual unit types.

My Department has developed Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for social housing in determining the cost of homes to be delivered, which are updated periodically. The UCCs are based on the analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes over an extended period, and market tender index information. Construction cost is reflective of building costs (including VAT) and also includes normal site works and site development. All-in cost includes cost of construction, land cost, professional fees, utility connections, site investigations/surveys, archaeology where appropriate, VAT and contribution to public art. Abnormal costs are excluded from these figures. 

The table below outlines the current range of UCC values across all local authorities for houses and apartments:

The Construction Costs outlined above as shown are reflective of building costs, inclusive of normal site works/site development and VAT. All-In Costs are reflective of the above construction costs with the addition of allowances for site purchase costs, design team fees, utilities, site investigations, surveys, local authority in-house fees, public art etc. as appropriate. With regard to the other (i.e. non-construction) items that make up the all-in total, the following should be noted:

- Design/technical fees: Design fees vary from project to project, depending on the location, size  and complexity of a scheme (and depending on whether design services are provided by a local authority in-house or via external appointment). As a guideline/indicator, design fee are generally expected to range between 7.5% - 12.5% of construction costs.

- Land cost:  Land costs will vary significantly from project to project, depending on location and ownership status (i.e. land costs could vary from existing local authority land at no cost to land purchased at market value).

- Utilities: Connection fees for Irish Water, ESB, gas, etc. As a guideline/indicator, utility connection costs are generally in the order of €7k per unit.

- Other Costs: Other items that make up the all-in delivery cost can include site investigations/surveys, archaeological requirements, Percent for Art contributions  - and will vary from scheme to scheme.

The above data excludes Abnormal Costs, which are specific to the requirements of each scheme, for instance demolitions, service diversions, existing site conditions, access requirements. 

Approved Housing Body (AHB) social housing delivery is primarily funded by the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) which is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. This loan facility can support up to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements.

In relation to affordable homes, it is not possible to provide a universally applicable cost of delivery of a quantum of affordable housing units. Such a costing is centrally dependent upon, and impacted by, a range of site and project specific characteristics. These factors include variables such as unit type, land cost, development and construction costs, costs and source of finance, together with ongoing maintenance and management fees, etc. In most cases affordable homes will be delivered via joint venture arrangements with the development sector with Exchequer funding covering an element of overall delivery cost.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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335. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current number of HAP and RAS leasing tenancies across all local authorities including long term leases by AHBs; the projected number of these for each of the years in the lifetime of the Housing for All plan; the annual cost for each year and in total for the lifetime of the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43928/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The table below shows the number of active tenancies at the end of Q1 2021, by scheme, by local authority:

Specific targets for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) are not included in Housing for All. However, given the numbers of households in need of housing supports, it will be necessary to continue to provide social housing through these schemes to ensure households can secure social housing immediately. 

The projected number for new tenancies being set-up for HAP in 2022 is between 10,000 and 15,000. The projected number for new tenancies being set-up for RAS in 2022 is 800. Projections for future years will be agreed on an annual basis as part of the normal Estimates process.  However, as the numbers of new build social homes increases under Housing for All, there will be a reduced reliance on HAP and RAS.

Under Housing for All, Long Term Leasing will be phased out by 2025. This phasing out process will begin now, with my officials engaging with every local authority to ensure that the correct processes are put in place to ensure a managed end to leasing. I will shortly be issuing leasing targets across a number of local authorities, but not all local authorities will have leasing targets going forward.