Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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364. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of affordable homes that have been built in counties Cavan and Monaghan in each of the past five years; the total number planned for 2023; the total funding allocated each year to the local authority to supply affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39114/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Following the publication of Housing for All, I asked local authorities to prepare 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 an 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 level of affordably constrained need across both Cavan and Monaghan is assessed at below 5%, although some localised affordability issues may arise in certain towns within the county. 

It is possible for local authorities, including Monaghan County Council and Cavan County Council, to undertake HNDA analysis at sub county level to determine whether a need for affordable housing schemes is evident in specific towns/areas.  The Affordable Housing Fund subsidy is available to support affordable housing purchase in schemes located in large or key towns per National Planning Framework objectives and to  ensure that provision is aligned with where need is concentrated. My Department and the Housing Agency are available to assist in this regard. 

The First Home Scheme to support affordable purchases of new homes in the private market will operate nationwide. Targeted at First Time Buyers or those eligible under the Government’s ‘Fresh Start’ principle, the Scheme will be delivered via a strategic partnership between the State and participating mortgage lenders, and was launched last week. It will improve access to newly-built homes by using a shared equity model to bridge the gap between mortgage finance and the cost of new homes. The homes must be priced within regional price ceilings which will reflect the median prices paid by First Time Buyers for new homes in each area, so this is an intervention to support homeownership in the lower region of the market.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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365. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average length of time spent on the social housing list in counties Cavan and Monaghan; the plans to reduce these times; the total number on the social housing list for each of the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39115/22]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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371. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average length of time spent on the social housing list in Cork city; the plans to reduce these times; the total number on the social housing list for each of the past 12 months and in each month to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39204/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 365 and 371 together.

Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area and the length of time on waiting lists are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). 

Below is the link to the summary report for 2021:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/f6119-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2021-key-findings/

The SSHA exercise for 2022 will take place later in the year and the summary published in 2023.

The Housing for All strategy is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 social homes per annum from 2022-2030. It is anticipated that the new supply will further reduce the wait times for those on the social housing list.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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366. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans from counties Cavan and Monaghan; the total number that have been successful; the total number that have been refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39116/22]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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372. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans and local authority home loans from Cork; the total number that have been successful; the total number that have been refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39205/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Authority Home Loan has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. Prior to that, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan was the mortgage available from local authorities. As of 4 January 2022, no new Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan applications are accepted, although applications/approvals already in process are being honoured.

The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, and its successor the Local Authority Home Loan scheme, on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications.

Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the Credit Policy that under pins the scheme, having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency.

The most recent figures provided by the Housing Agency on the number of Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan applications that it has assessed and recommended for approval and decline for Cavan County Council, Monaghan County Council, Cork County Council and Cork City Council from March 2018 up to the end of June 2022 are set out in the below table:

My Department regularly publishes information on the number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount).

Information on Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals to Q1 2022 is available at the following link, under the folder name 'Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan' which will be updated as soon as figures are available:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid