Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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722. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide additional funding for affordable and social housing in County Kerry; if he will introduce a scheme of low-cost sites in all towns across the county such as Killarney, Killorglin, Cahersiveen, Castleisland, Tralee, Dingle, Listowel and Kenmare as such a scheme will help address the housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46635/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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All local authorities, including Kerry County Council, have developed and published their Housing Delivery Action Plans setting out their plans to deliver social and affordable housing during the peiod from 2022-2022. This follows a comprehensive Housing Needs and Demand Assessment. A copy of Kerry County Council’s Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on its website at the following link: .

My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Data up to and including the third quarter of 2024 is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: .

My Department also 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. All such reports up to the third quarter of 2024 are available at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is available to all local authorities to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified.

My Department met with the Housing Delivery team in Kerry County Council in December 2024 to support their work towards the identification and development of appropriate schemes which may lead to the delivery of affordable housing with the support of the AHF in response to localised needs identified by the local authority at key urban locations such as Killarney and Tralee.

The Ready to Build serviced sites scheme is already available under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund which provides grant assistance towards the provision of sites at a discount to people who want to build their own home. This Fund also continues to support the refurbishment of vacant properties with grants of up to €30,000 or €50,000 if the property is derelict. Information on both scheme is available directly from Kerry County Council.

It is also worth noting that the First Home Scheme which supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model is also available.

My Department, the Housing Agency and Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office of the Local Government Management Association continue to be available to assist Kerry in relation to ongoing development of its social and affordable housing delivery programme.