Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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263. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide details of the measures he is taking to provide affordable housing in counties Offaly and Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47866/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Following the publication of Housing for All last year, 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. Both Offaly and Laois County Councils submitted initial draft Plans to my Department in December last and published their final Plans in July.

18 local authorities, including Laois, with a strong and identified affordable housing need were asked to include planned affordable housing delivery in their Action Plans. I have also set five-year Affordable Housing delivery targets for those local authorities. Local Authorities will advertise affordable purchase schemes in accordance with legislation as they become available and individuals will be able to make applications to the local authority in the manner prescribed.

The level of affordably constrained need in Offaly is assessed at below 5%, although some localised affordability issues may arise in certain towns within both counties.

It is possible for local authorities, including Offaly 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 all local authorities in the consideration of schemes and the preparation of applications. My Department has yet to receive an AHF funding application to support affordable housing delivery from Laois or Offaly.

Furthermore, I recently announced the ‘Ready to Build’ Scheme. The scheme will be funded from the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund. Under the scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites available in towns and villages to potential purchasers for the building by the purchaser of a principal private residence. The sites will be sold at a discounted rate of up to €30,000 from the market value. The discount will be determined by the cost of servicing the site. This will facilitate the making available of some 2,000 sites for homes by 2025 and can be availed of by both Laois County Council and Offaly County Council to help meet affordable housing need.

Finally, the First Home Scheme, launched in July this year, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model, similar to that employed in the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. The Scheme aims to support in the region of 8,000 households in acquiring new homes in the private market in the years 2022 to 2026 with an overall budget of €400 million. The scheme is available nationwide.