Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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389. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of vacant social houses in Mayo; how many specifically in Castlebar and Ballina; the average turnaround time for a social house once it is vacant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16104/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is an ongoing process. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to vacant local authority owned homes are not routinely collated by my Department.

However, statistics in relation to social housing stock, at a point in time, are published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in their Annual Reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These reports provide a range of information in relation to social housing stock, including levels of vacancy and average turnaround times for reletting local authority owned properties. The most recent report, relating to 2022, is available on the NOAC website at the following link:

www.noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20231009-NOAC-PI-Report-2022-FINAL.pdf.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government and my Department continue to support local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in the delivery of new public housing, with strong recent delivery and ambitious national and local targets set for local authorities to deliver further social and affordable housing.

To support this delivery, Budget 2024 saw record levels of housing funding, with over €5bn capital investment for housing in 2024, made up of €2.6bn Exchequer, €978m Land Development Agency (LDA) and €1.5bn Housing Finance Agency (HFA) funding. The NDP Capital Ceiling provision in 2024 represents an increase of €358m on the 2023 provision.

Through the significant exchequer funding made available under the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP), where local authorities build or acquire, houses/apartment for social housing use, my Department provides 100% of these costs to local authorities.

Under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) my Department provides up to 100% Capital funding to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to provide new social homes for priority categories to include homeless, disability and age friendly housing.

CALF funding is capital support provided to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. This loan facility can support from 25% to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements. A nominal interest rate of 2% fixed per annum is charged by the local authority on the initial capital amount. Repayments on either the capital or interest are not required during the term of the loan (between 10 and 30 years), although where an AHB chooses to, repayments can be made during the term. At the end of the term, the outstanding capital amount plus the interest accrued, is owed and repayable to the local authority. The local authority issues the CALF monies to the AHB and the local authority, in turn, recoups same from the Department.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is available to assist all local authorities to respond effectively to identified localised affordability constraints by delivering additional affordable housing stock whether through direct construction, or in partnership with developers through 'turnkey' projects. Subventions ranging from €50,000 to €150,000 (in respect of cost rental developments in the five city areas) are available for local authorities to bring forward suitable schemes where homes can be offered for purchase or rent to eligible applicants at an affordable price. An Exchequer contribution represents 95% of the subvention, with the remaining 5% coming from a local authority contribution.

CREL is available to Approved Housing Bodies which provide Cost Rental homes. The improved loan allows for the availability of increased levels of loan finance, together with new State equity investment which is improving the ability of Approved Housing Bodies to bring forward Cost Rental homes. Overall State funding is increasing from 45% up to 55% of capital costs, on a sliding scale as necessary for project viability at appropriate rent levels. The existing loan model is being supplemented with new State equity investment element (up to a maximum of 20% of capital costs), which will effectively never need to be realised so long as the property remains in the Cost Rental sector.