Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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327. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if submissions have been received from Clare County Council under the local authority affordable purchase scheme since July 2022; if so, if he will provide details of same; if his Department is examining any schemes for County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4112/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Affordable Housing Fund is available to assist all local authorities in bringing forward affordable housing schemes. Following the publication of Housing for All in September 2021, I asked local authorities to prepare Housing Delivery Action Plans. Each local authority was asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability constraint projected for their area based on the Housing Need and Demand Assessment Tool and plan their provision accordingly. A copy of Clare County Council’s Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on its website at the following link:  www.clarecoco.ie/services/housing/housingdap/.

Local authorities with the highest levels of affordable housing need were asked to prepare Affordable Delivery Plans as part of their overall Plans and were set five-year Affordable Delivery Targets. Clare does not have a specific target as average house price levels in the county are still well below the national median, but I understand that there may be some localised affordability issues in certain areas which the local authority is examining.

Where there are localised challenges, funding can be made available to develop a scheme in line with Affordable Housing Fund criteria. While to date, my Department has not received any application for funding under the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) from Clare, my Department met with Clare County Council last July and November to discuss affordable housing need in the county and plans to provide affordable housing.  

In addition, the First Home Scheme which was 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. 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, including Co. Clare. Full information on the scheme is available on the First Home Scheme dedicated website, www.firsthomescheme.ie.

Finally, the new Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund is also available in Clare and it provides for grants for refurbishment of vacant properties of up to €30,000 or €50,000 if the property is derelict. I also announced last year, a new Ready to Build serviced sites scheme under the Fund where local authorities will provide sites at a discount to people who want to build their own home. Information on both of these scheme is available directly from Clare County Council.