Written answers

Thursday, 27 January 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Housing Provision

Photo of Cormac DevlinCormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of a development (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4016/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are making an important contribution to social housing delivery, as envisaged under the Housing for All Plan. The Government is committed to increasing social housing delivery and plans to deliver more than 90,000 social homes to 2030.

My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with AHBs to construct, purchase and lease new homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that provides finance to assist AHBs progress construction projects is the Capital Advance Loan Facility (CALF).

CALF funding is capital support provided to Approved Housing Bodies (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. A nominal interest rate of 2% fixed per annum is charged by the local authority on the initial capital amount.Repayments on either the capital or interest are not required during the term of the loan (between 10 and 30 years), although where an AHB chooses to, repayments can be made during the term. At the end of the term, the outstanding capital amount plus the interest accrued, is owed and repayable to the local authority. The local authority issues the CALF monies to the AHB and the local authority, in turn, recoups same from the Department.

With regard to the specific project mentioned by the Deputy, I can confirm that the project received conditional CALF funding approval in 2019 for 34 social housing homes. The most recent update from Co-Operative Housing Ireland is that they are currently working to progress the project to Tender stage, with expected final delivery in 2023. This project is being progressed with the support of the local authority.

My Department publishes a quarterly Social Housing Construction Projects Status Report, which sets out the continuing progress being made in advancing the national local authority and AHB new-build pipeline. The latest report, setting out the position at end Q3 2021, can be accessed at the following weblink:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/.

Photo of Cormac DevlinCormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the proposed public housing development at Shanganagh Castle, Shankill, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4017/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In July 2020 approval was granted by Cabinet to allow the Land Development Agency (LDA) and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLR) to proceed to tender for the construction of 597 units at Shanganagh Castle.

This flagship LDA project will deliver 597 homes on public land, combining social, cost rental and affordable homes in the first such development in the State. This important project is intended to act as a pathfinder for other mixed tenure schemes which are key to delivering public housing on public land.

This project will see the construction of 200 social housing units which will be funded through social housing capital funding. The remaining costs associated with the cost rental and affordable purchase homes will be met by Affordable Housing Fund.

The tender process is on-going and my Department are currently carrying out a preliminary review of the draft Final Business Case. Following tender reports and selection of the preferred bidder, planned for the end of March 2022, the LDA and DLR will submit the updated Final Business Case to my Department for review and approval. Following cabinet approval to proceed, construction is expected to commence in Q3 2022.

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