Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government her plans to fasttrack the deliver of affordable purchase homes in the Merlin area of County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32197/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Following the publication of Housing for All, I asked local authorities to prepare Local Housing Delivery Action Plans. In preparing these Plans local authorities were asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability constraint projected for their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) tool and plan their provision accordingly.  Local authorities with a strong and identified affordable housing need were asked to prepare Affordable Delivery Action Plans and were set five-year Affordable Delivery Targets.

An identified high level of affordable housing need arises where the HNDA indicates that, of the total projected need for housing in the county, over 5% of new households will not qualify for social housing but will also be constrained in accessing housing by their ability to afford to buy or rent.

The Plans are being revised and updated by local authorities in the light of ongoing engagement and clarifications, and I expect that they will be ready for publication by local authorities shortly. They will provide a comprehensive overview of projected delivery of affordable housing in Galway. 

Funding is made available by Government to assist local authority and Approved Housing Body delivery of affordable housing, for purchase and rent, through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), previously known as the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF), and the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL). The SSF is supporting affordable housing development at Merlin Woods in Galway City, which will assist in the delivery of approximately 85 affordable purchase homes.  Galway City Council has advised my Department that these homes will be completed by 2024.