Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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277. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number, location and timeframe involved in delivering cost rental housing to County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45828/22]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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278. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of affordable houses delivered in County Kildare over the last 3 years; the plans for the next 3 years; the location and delivery times of those built and those proposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45829/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 277 and 278 together.

The Housing for All Strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. 54,000 affordable home interventions will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHB), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.

Local authorities have begun collating information on delivery of affordable homes in their area in the same manner as is currently undertaken for social housing. It is intended that information across all delivery streams, including AHB delivery and LDA delivery, will be gathered centrally and I expect that my Department will be in a position to begin reporting on affordable delivery in national quarterly statistics later this year.  

Informed by an analysis of the level of demand and affordability constraint in their area using a Housing Need and Demand Assessment, Kildare’s affordable housing will be underpinned by its Housing Delivery Action Plan which can be found here

kildarecoco.ie/YourCouncil/Publications/Housing/ 

The First Home Scheme, launched in July last now provides affordable housing options nationally via an equity support of up to 30% for First Time Buyers of new homes.  I am advised that the scheme will publish quarterly statistics from October and I understand from initial feedback that application levels from Kildare County are amongst the highest in the country.  

Separately and supported by Departmental funding, Kildare County Council has confirmed that construction is expected to begin on 10 affordable purchase homes of a mixed tenure housing development at Ardclough Road in Celbridge, next year, with projected delivery of these affordable homes by the 1st quarter of 2025.   

In relation to Cost Rental, approval has been confirmed for approximately 900 homes to be delivered by AHBs via the Cost Rental Equity Loan in the period to 2023.  Of this number, approximately 242 are scheduled to be delivered in Kildare in 2022 and 2023, across 4 different sites.  The necessary financial and commercial arrangements in relation to a number of these projects are being completed by the AHBs concerned and full details will be made public as arrangements are concluded. 

The LDA will also deliver affordable purchase and Cost Rental homes on its own portfolio and through Project Tosaigh. In addition,  the LDA has submitted a revised planning permission for 219 social, affordable and cost rental units at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co. Kildare.  Details of the number and type of homes to be delivered by the LDA will be confirmed by the LDA as plans advance and further information can be found at lda.ie/  

Other measures to allow buyers to affordably access newly-constructed housing such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home Loan, are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable. Information on these schemes is available at the following links: 

www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/index.aspx, and 

localauthorityhomeloan.ie/