Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Housing Provision
Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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837. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the financial assistance available to a local authority to develop a project (details supplied) in Kildare south; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2126/25]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As independent corporate entities, local authorities have the power to acquire land for the purposes of performing any of their functions, including for the delivery of housing.
Once local authorities have identified a need to acquire additional lands, they may seek to borrow the required finance. In accordance with Section 106 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, the decision to borrow is a reserved function of the elected members of the local authority concerned, who have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions and are accountable for all expenditure by the local authority. As such, it is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process, having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.
Where a local authority is seeking to deliver social housing, Exchequer funding is made available under the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP), my Department provides 100% of these costs to local authorities including the site costs.
Support from the Affordable Housing Fund is available to all local authorities to deliver affordable purchase and cost rental homes where an affordable housing need is evidenced.
In addition, the Housing for All Land Acquisition Fund was established in 2022 to support local authorities to acquire land to deliver new build social housing schemes and this was extended in 2024 to include land for affordable housing. The fund has an overall allocation of €239m and is managed by the Housing Agency.
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