Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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293. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will explain the rationale behind affordable housing (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57620/22]

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.

18 local authorities, including Galway County Council, who had a strong and identified affordable housing need were asked to include planned affordable housing delivery in their Action Plans. I also set five-year Affordable Housing delivery targets for those 18 local authorities.

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 in Mayo is assessed at below 5%, although some localised affordability issues may arise in certain towns within the county.

All local authorities including both Mayo and Galway County Councils submitted their initial draft Plans to my Department last December and they both published their final Plans in July of this year.

It is possible for local authorities, including Mayo County Council, to undertake an analysis of affordable housing need at sub-county level to determine whether a need for affordable housing schemes is evident in specific towns/areas. Such an analysis was recently undertaken by Mayo County Council and some pockets of affordability challenge have been identified within the county.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) subsidy is available to support affordable housing purchase in schemes located in large or key towns identified in Regional Social and Economic Strategies, where an affordable housing need is evidenced, ensuring that provision is aligned with where need is concentrated.

My Department, the Housing Agency and the LGMA are available to assist all local authorities in the consideration of schemes and the preparation of applications. My Department has recently received an AHF funding application from Mayo County Council to support affordable housing delivery in Westport which is under consideration.

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 Mayo 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.