Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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424. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a substantive reply has issued to a constituent in Donegal to his email communication of 30 September 2024 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42447/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that a reply to this correspondence has issued from my Department.

The response provided details on the issues raised including standards, the conveyancing processes, quarry regulation, concrete manufacturing, and construction product regulation.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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425. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to improve the availability of affordable housing in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42567/24]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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463. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his target for the delivery of affordable homes in Monaghan in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43232/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 463 together.

The Affordable Housing Act 2021 established a framework to make affordable housing available, setting up affordable purchase and cost rental schemes for delivery by key partners.

As regards local authority delivery, funding approvals are now in place to support the delivery of over 4,300 affordable homes by 21 local authorities with subsidy from the Affordable Housing Fund. The legislative framework and arrangements in place to support the affordable housing schemes are proving effective.

In implementing the objectives of Housing for All, each local authority, including both Kildare and Monaghan, 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 and are subject to an individual five-year Affordable Housing delivery target.

Whether or not an affordable housing delivery target has been set, subsidy from the Affordable Housing Fund is available to assist all local authorities, including Monaghan, in responding effectively to localised affordability needs i.e. where some new households being formed are identified as not being able to access housing for purchase or rent at prices/rents affordable to them.

My Department, in conjunction with the Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office of the Local Government Management Association and the Housing Agency, is available to advise and support local authorities in responding effectively to localised affordability needs.

Kildare has already successfully delivered 19 affordable purchase homes at Grey Abbey, Kildare with the support of the Affordable Housing Fund.

Department officials met recently with the Monaghan County Council housing delivery team to outline how the Affordable Housing Fund is available to address such needs where identified.

The First Home scheme is also available and actively supporting affordable home purchase nationwide. To date, First Home has delivered affordable home ownership solutions to 680 eligible persons in Kildare and to 15 eligible persons in Monaghan. As housing supply increases and the choice of homes available improves I expect First Home to expand and grow in both counties in the coming years.

The Croí Cónaithe Towns schemes, which includes the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the Ready to Build Scheme, is also contributing to addressing the needs of affordably constrained purchasers in both counties.

331 cost rental units have also been delivered to date in Kildare by Approved Housing Bodies and the Land Development Agency.

The Land Development Agency is also tasked with developing social and affordable homes on over 30 state land sites, including the Devoy Barracks site at Naas, where construction of housing commenced in December 2023. 219 homes in total are expected to be delivered over two phases in Q4 2025 and Q4 2026.

My Department publishes affordable housing delivery reports based on quarterly returns received from all local authorities. These reports are available on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/?#affordable-housing-delivery

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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426. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on Project Tosaigh in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42568/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established with a focus on managing the State’s lands to develop new homes and regenerate underutilised sites. It has also been tasked with unlocking stalled, private, planning-consented developments in the shorter-term through Project Tosaigh, its market engagement initiative.

The LDA is targeting 8,000 new homes over the course of the Project Tosaigh initiative. They are currently on track to deliver 5,000 new homes for social housing, Cost Rental and Affordable Purchase to eligible households by end 2026. In excess of 2,500 social, affordable purchase or cost rental homes are already either delivered, contracted or approved to proceed within the LDA to date under Project Tosaigh's first phase. As part of this initial phase, the LDA delivered 73 Cost Rental homes in Kildare in 2023.

To deliver the next phase of Project Tosaigh, a framework panel consisting of 15 of Ireland’s largest and most experienced home-builders to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes was announced on 12 June 2024. It is anticipated that the first projects from this framework panel will be agreed in the coming months.

Additionally, Government has agreed the transfer of over 30 state land sites to the LDA for regeneration and development of social & affordable homes. These sites have the collective potential to deliver over 18,000 new homes. Of these sites, the land at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co. Kildare has been transferred, and construction of housing commenced in December 2023. 219 homes in total are expected to be constructed, and crèche facilities, with expected delivery of the first phase of homes expected in Q4 2025 and the remainder by Q4 2026.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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427. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the progress being made with the long awaited regeneration of Saint Patrick's Park, Rathangan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42569/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is supporting Kildare County Council who are advancing the refurbishment of St. Patrick's Park, Rathangan, including an element of additional, new build social housing. The Council has advised that Phase 1 of the works, which involves the refurbishment of 34 homes, was completed in October 2019 and that plans for the next phases have been developed following public consultation workshops with residents.

Earlier this year, my Department gave Pre-Tender (Stage 3) approval to Kildare County Council for the progression of Phases 2 & 3 of the overall project which I understand, will involve the demolition of 15 existing properties, construction of 7 new homes, refurbishment of 23 homes and a range of site and landscaping works. I also understand that the Part 8 planning process for these works was completed in February 2023 and that Kildare County Council has tendered the works and has very recently provided my Department with a Post-Tender (Stage 4) report, which is currently being assessed by my Department who will liaise Kildare County Council in relation to the matter.

While this is a complex project, it is being advanced by Kildare County Council so that improved conditions are delivered for the residents. Further information is available directly from Kildare County Council which is managing the implementation of the overall project.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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428. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he can provide details on the progress of Kildare County Council's serviced sites scheme, particularly the upcoming sale of serviced sites in Clogherinkoe; what measures are in place to ensure affordability for local buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42576/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Ready to Build Schemes, funded by the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, was launched in September 2022. Under the Scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers to build their homes. These sites will be available at a discount on the market value of the site for the purposes of building a property for occupation as the principal private residence of the purchaser. The level of discount to the individual will depend on the level of servicing cost incurred by the local authority before the sale of the site but will not exceed €30,000. The amount of such discount will be reflected in the sale price of the site.

Under the scheme, it is intended that local authorities will develop existing sites in their control or purchase sites in towns and villages and make them available for development by providing services and access to the sites concerned. It is a matter for the local authority to identify a suitable site/s that is either already in their ownership or that can be acquired and that meets the conditions of the scheme.

To date, 17 sites have been made available for sale, 8 in Laois, 5 in Wicklow, and 4 in Tipperary. A further 7 sites are to be made available for sale by Kildare County Council under the scheme in the coming weeks. The level of discount offered by Kildare for the sites is dependent on the costs to the Council to service the sites to bring them to market.

A further 154 sites have been identified by various local authorities for potential sale under the scheme. Theses are at various stages of consideration by the relevant local authorities. My Department is working with those local authorities to progress the sites.

The conditions of the Ready to Build Scheme do not preclude prospective applicants from availing of other Government initiatives such as the Help to Buy Scheme or Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan.