Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q3 2023, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

My Department publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. The most recent publication was for Quarter 3 2023. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/

Local authorities also now complete and submit data returns to my Department on delivery of affordable homes in their area in the same manner as is done for social housing. Statistical reports detailing affordable housing delivery during 2022 and for the first three quarters of 2023 are also available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/#affordable-housing-delivery

Under Housing for All, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. This Plan sets out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. In preparing the Plans, local authorities were required to include details of land available to deliver housing and details of land acquisition requirements. The Plans also include details of the locations and delivery streams for social housing schemes.

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. 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.

The Plans have been published on local authority websites. A copy of the Housing Delivery Action Plan for Mayo is available on its website at the following link:

www.mayo.ie/en-ie/your-council/services/housing-services/social-housing/housing-delivery-action-plan.

Mayo’s social housing build targets are set out in the table below.

Mayo does not have a specific affordability target but has identified localised need, i.e. new households being formed unable to access housing for purchase or rent at prices/rents affordable to them and is developing an affordable housing delivery programme to respond appropriately. To date it has received approval for subsidy from the AHF to assist in the delivery of 13 affordable homes in Springfield, Westport.

At a recent meeting with the Department, Mayo County Council indicated that a number of additional affordable housing schemes are being prepared for which it intends applying for AHF subsidy support. The Department will continue to assist and support Mayo as it develops its affordability programme.

Given the profile of the county, it is expected that the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund and the Ready to Build services sites schemes will also make a significant contribution to addressing overall affordability needs in Mayo. Both of these schemes have been advertised by Mayo County Council on its official website.

Significant progress is being made to deliver the ambitious targets contained in Housing for All and my Department is working closely with the local authorities, including Mayo County Council, and with Approved Housing Bodies, the LDA, and retail banks via the First Home, to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing.