Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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467. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to deliver affordable housing units in the south Kildare constituency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13291/23]

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 targeted 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 set individual five-year Affordable Housing delivery targets for those local authorities. The Kildare plan is available at the following link

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. This momentum will continue with delivery increasing significantly this year. A pipeline of affordable housing delivery is in place and under continuous development 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. I understand that my Department is currently assessing an Affordable Housing Fund application from Kildare County Council for an affordable housing scheme in the Kildare South constituency area. If approved, details will be available in due course on the Kildare County Council website.

In relation to cost rental, approximately 250 cost rental homes have been delivered in Kildare to date providing long term security of tenure and rental levels of at least 25% below market levels.

Finally, the First Home Scheme, launched in July 2022, supports first-time buyers in purchasing new homes 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.

As at the end of 2022, and in the first six months of operation, 750 First Home applications were approved nationwide, with over 25% of these approvals being provided to purchasers in Kildare. In January of this year, having reviewed the house price ceiling applying to eligible properties in Kildare County, the First Home scheme confirmed an increase the Kildare ceiling from €400,000 to €425,000 thereby further improving access and the level of support made available to affordably constrained households.

The First Home scheme is available nationwide and more information can be found at www.firsthomescheme.ie/.