Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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290. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of applications that have been received for the croí cónaithe cities fund; the number that have been approved; and the number that have been drawn down in tabular form. [57525/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme supports the building of apartments for sale to owner-occupiers. The Scheme aims to bridge the current “viability gap” between the cost of building apartments and the market sale price (where the cost of building is greater). The scheme is targeted principally at activating planning permissions already in place for such homes.

The scheme launched on the 10th May with an Expressions of Interest process which is being managed and administered by the Housing Agency on behalf of my Department. The closing date for receipt of proposals was 21st June 2022.

On receipt of applications in June, the Housing Agency has been actively undertaking the various appraisal stages (3) which deal with the following:

1. Eligibility of proposals

2. Ranking of suitable proposals and

3. A detailed due diligence process leading to designation (the current stage of progress).

Alongside this, the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) scheme is currently subject of an application in respect of State Aid to the EU’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) with a decision due shortly.

Until that live process has concluded, and due to the on-going commercial sensitivity surrounding the live assessment process, it is not possible to comment any further on specific details until then.