Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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500. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of affordable homes built in the Kildare County Council area in each of the past five years; the number planned for 2023; the funding allocated in each year to the local authority to supply affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63729/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase the supply of housing to the required 33,000 homes, on average, per year over the next decade. 54,000 affordable home interventions will be delivered between now and 2030 to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.

In implementing the key objectives under Housing for All, each local authority has prepared and published a Housing Delivery Action Plan in respect of local authority supported or overseen delivery from 2022 to 2026. 18 local authorities with a strong and identified affordable housing need, including Kildare County Council, were asked to include assessed affordable housing need and planned affordable housing delivery in their Action Plans. I have also set individual five-year Affordable Housing delivery targets for those local authorities. The Kildare plan is available at the following link: www.kildarecoco.ie/YourCouncil/Publications/Housing/Kildare%20County%20Council%20Housing%20Delivery%20Action%20Plan.pdf

2022 represented the commencement of a very ambitious programme of delivery of affordable housing. A pipeline of affordable housing delivery is currently being developed by local authorities, by Approved Housing Bodies using the Cost Rental Equity Loan and by the Land Development Agency.

Funding under the various streams is made available on a programme basis in support of approved affordable housing schemes, rather than by allocations to counties. “Housing for All” has the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State to transform our housing system, with in excess of €20 billion in funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Housing Finance Agency over the five years.

Local authorities have been begun collating information on delivery of affordable homes in their area in the same manner as is currently done for social housing. It is intended that information on delivery across all delivery streams will be gathered by my Department and I expect that my Department will be in a position to begin reporting on affordable delivery in national quarterly delivery statistics in Q1 2023.

Finally, the First Home Scheme, launched in July 2022, 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 and more information can be found at www.firsthomescheme.ie/.