Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under Housing for All, the Government has targeted the delivery of 28,500 new affordable homes from 2022 to 2026, 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.

Each local authority has prepared and published its own 5-year Housing Delivery Action Plan setting out their planned social and affordable housing delivery for the 2022-2026 period. Clare County Council's plan is available on its official website.

Clare County Council does not have an affordable housing delivery target as the assessed level of affordably constrained need is not high in the county as house prices are below the national median. Nevertheless, the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is open and available to support all local authorities to address any localised affordability needs where they occur.

In this context, my Department, in conjunction with the Housing Agency and the Housing Delivery Coordination Office of the Local Government Management Association, is currently liaising with Clare County Council to advise and support the authority as it develops an affordable delivery programme that will respond effectively to affordable housing needs in its area, particularly in the key urban centres of Ennis and Shannon.

Funding approval under the AHF is now in place to assist with the delivery of 10 affordable purchase homes at Shannon, while schemes in Ennis are currently being explored and developed.

In relation to the circumstances in which designated activity companies may be established and used by local authorities for any purpose, it is important to note that local authorities are independent statutory bodies with their own democratically elected councils, and management and governance structures.

Under Section 63 of the Local Government Act 2001, a local authority is "independent in the performance of its functions".

Part 9, Chapter 1 of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended), in setting out the general functions of a local authority, provides that such functions include taking "such action as it considers necessary or desirable to promote the community interest..." Section 66(4)(i) of the 2001 Act provides that, in promoting the interests of a local community, a local authority may "enter into such contracts and make such other arrangements (including the incorporation of one or more than one company) as the authority considers necessary or expedient either alone or jointly with any other local authority or public authority or any other person".