QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of affordable purchase schemes units provided to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY The delivery of more affordable homes, to buy or rent, particularly in areas where people are facing the greatest affordability challenge, is a major priority for Government. Of course, affordability and access to affordable housing are significantly influenced by the supply of new homes to buy and rent, and competition in the market. Therefore, the Government has taken significant action to increase housing supply through the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. This is having a significant impact, particularly for those on lowest incomes, with nearly 26,000 households having their social housing needs met in 2017. More generally and in order to increase overall house-building at scale, a suite of actions is underway, including, for example, actions to fund infrastructure, streamline planning, and reduce building costs. There is evidence that these measures are working with housing planning permissions and commencements growing by 27% and 23% respectively, year on year as evidenced in the most recent Monthly Housing Activity Report, which can be accessed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/latest-house-building-data-shows-continued-year-year-growth-2/. The Government is committed to ensuring that housing is affordable for households on low to moderate incomes. Recognising that people want a choice of affordable purchase and rental, depending on their stage of life and circumstances, we are progressing both through a range of initiatives. I announced new measures in January specifically targeted at delivering more affordable homes to households generally with maximum income of €50,000 for single applicants and €75,000 for joint applicants. Based on initial estimates, the initiatives have the potential to deliver some 4,000 new affordable homes to buy or rent, with a target delivery of at least 10,000 new affordable homes in the medium to long term. The emphasis initially will be on delivering affordable homes from the public land bank, particularly in urban areas where affordability issues are greatest. Already, proposals for a number of large mixed-tenure projects, that will include affordable homes, are progressing for local authority sites in Dublin, including Kilcarberry in Clondalkin, as well as O'Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road in the Dublin City Council area. These sites can accommodate 2,000 to 2,500 new homes. I also expect to announce a major cost rental project on a Dublin site shortly. Finally, to support local authorities, I have secured additional funding for enabling infrastructure which will facilitate affordable housing provision, and I expect to issue a call for proposals for this funding to local authorities very shortly.
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QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the estimated number of units to be delivered in each of the pilot projects for a new cost rental scheme; the timeframe for their delivery; the criteria for their allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY Against the background of the affordability pressures which currently exist in the rental market, the Government is determined to make cost rental a major part of the Irish housing system, similar to the role it plays in many other European countries. Under this approach, rents are set at levels to recover the construction costs and to facilitate the management and administration of developments, but with only a minimal profit margin included. A pilot project is currently being progressed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, at Enniskerry Road in Sandyford, in conjunction with the Housing Agency and Approved Housing Bodies, using land owned by the Agency. Respond and Túath have been selected as development agents to bring the site forward for development, which will include the construction of 105 social housing and 50 cost rental homes. It is expected that construction on this site will commence before the end of the year. Learning from the initial experience in the pilot scheme, my Department is working with the National Development Finance Agency, European Investment Bank, and other key stakeholders with a view to developing the large-scale cost rental projects, particularly in major urban areas, as well as a pipeline of further projects, to be developed and advanced by local authorities. Initial feasibility analysis is underway and I expect to be in a position to make an announcement on a major cost rental project to be advanced in Dublin city shortly. I announced new measures in January of this year that are specifically targeted at delivering more affordable homes generally to households with maximum gross incomes of €50,000 for single applicants and €75,000 for joint applicants. The income criteria for access to a cost rental scheme will take into account the broader policy development on affordable housing. QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the proposed location of the headquarters of the regeneration and development agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. * To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of staff working within the regeneration and development agency; the anticipated number of staff by the end 2018 and 2019, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. * To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the amount allocated to the 2018 budget for the regeneration and development agency; the anticipated budget for 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien T.D. REPLY Project Ireland 2040, published in February 2018, signals a significant policy shift towards securing more compact and sustainable urban and rural development, which requires significantly more effective land management in key development areas. Against that background, it is proposed to establish a National Regeneration and Development Agency to assist in ensuring a more effective approach to strategic land management, particularly in terms of publicly owned land. The Agency will act as a national centre of expertise, working with and supporting local authorities, public bodies and other interests, to harness public lands as catalysts to stimulate regeneration and wider investment and to achieve compact, sustainable growth, with a particular emphasis on complex regeneration projects and the provision of affordable housing. Detailed arrangements in relation to the functions, powers and mechanisms for the establishment of the Agency are currently being developed by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with a view to their early finalisation. These discussions will inform the designing of the functions, resource needs, budgetary requirements and location of the Agency, once it is established. QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of applications received for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme by county; the number of successful applicants by county; the amount issued to date by county; the interest rate applied in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY As with the previous local authority home loan offerings, loan applications under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan are made directly to the local authority in whose area the property proposed for purchase is situated. My Department therefore does not directly collect information on the number of enquiries to local authorities regarding the loan or the number of loan applications received by local authorities. As is currently the case, my Department will continue to publish information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Information up to Q3 2017 is available on the Department's website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity, and this information will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional data is compiled. The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses valid loan applications that are made to the local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities as to whether loans should be offered to applicants. I have asked the Agency to centrally compile figures of the numbers of applications that it has assessed. The most recent figures, as at the end of May, indicate that the Agency had received a total of 1,499 applications for assessment from local authorities, 1,150 of which were deemed to be valid. Of these valid applications, 876 have been assessed and 52% of the valid applications that have been assessed by the Agency have been recommended for approval. It is subsequently a matter for the relevant local authority credit committee to ultimately determine whether a loan application is approved, having regard to the Agency's recommendation and other relevant factors. While the Housing Agency do not collate information on a county-by-county basis, they have provided data on the number of applications received on a regional basis. Of the 1,499 applications received to the end of May, 619 were from the four Dublin local authorities, while 540 were from the local authorities in Cork, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, which comprise the local authority areas where the purchase price limit of €320,000 applies. The remaining 340 applications were from the other local authorities where the lower purchase price limit of €250,000 applies. Applicants have the choice of three rates of interest under the terms of the scheme. These options are 2% fixed for up to 25 years, 2.25% fixed for up to 30 years, or 2.30% variable (subject to fluctuation) for up to 30 years. QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the amount spent on the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme in each of the years 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. * To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of units on the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme in each of the years 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien T.D. For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018. REPLY The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the leasing of houses and apartments. These properties are either privately owned or owned by AHBs. Properties made available under the programme are used to accommodate households from local authority waiting lists. Details of the total number of properties operational under SHCEP at the end of each of the years 2011 to 2017 are provided below in tabular form. My Department is currently gathering data from local authorities for Quarter 1 of 2018 and this will be published on my Department's website as soon as it is available. Year Dwellings operational under SHCEP 2011 2,496 2012 3,701 2013 4,600 2014 5,622 2015 7,099 2016 8,366 2017 10,152 In total, it is estimated that an additional 21,100 dwellings will be incrementally supported under SHCEP in the period from 2018 to 2021. This includes dwellings to be sourced through long-term lease arrangements from a range of different sources, the Repair and Leasing Scheme and properties which will be delivered by AHBs through a combination of the support under my Department's Capital Advance Loan Facility (CALF) and private borrowings, including from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). The annual cost of SHCEP to the Exchequer is made up of the continuing cost of supporting existing tenancies and contracts in place at the end of the previous year together with the additional cost of the new tenancies and contracts supported over the course of the year to which the allocation relates. Exchequer funding for SHCEP in 2018 is €115m – an increase of €31m over 2017. Details of the funding drawn-down by local authorities under SHCEP from 2011 to 2017, and for the first quarter of 2018, are provided below in tabular form. Period SHCEP Expenditure 2011 €13,817,464 2012 €20,814,526 2013 €27,362,6145 2014 €34,844,780 2015 €42,275,724* 2016 €54,028,752 2017 €84,050,743 Q1 2018 €14,016,737 *Of this figure, a total of €7,933,651 was self-funded by local authorities using funding from their RAS Reserve. QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of recipients of the rental accommodation scheme in each of the years 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. * To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the amount spent on the rental accommodation scheme in each of the years 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien T.D. For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018. REPLY At the end of 2016 local authorities reported that there were 20,306 Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) tenancies in place, with total expenditure in 2016 for the scheme of just under €131 million. My Department is currently collating 2017 RAS data, which includes the number of tenancies in place at the end of 2017, received from local authorities. Expenditure on the scheme in 2017 was just under €143m. Exchequer funding of €134m has been allocated to RAS in 2018, which is expected to be expended in full. Data for the years 2011 to 2016 on the number and cost of tenancies funded under the RAS scheme, broken down by local authority, are available on my Department's website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision. RAS continues to be an effective and secure form of social housing support. As the House Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is rolled out nationally and replaces rent supplement completely, the number of households transferring to RAS will decrease. In order to reflect the expected decrease in households being housed through the RAS scheme in the coming 3 years, a national target of 600 new RAS transfers has been set for each of the next 3 years 2018-2020, totalling 1,800 new transfers. This is a reduction on the previous national RAS target of 2,000 for the period 2016/2017, which was achieved by Local Authorities. A combined total of 17,600 tenancies are targeted to be supported under HAP and RAS in 2018. QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the status of his Department's policy on direct housing acquisition from the private sector for social housing proposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY Over the period 2016-2021, under Rebuilding Ireland, 50,000 additional social homes are to be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing schemes. Through the supports made available from my Department, funding is available to all local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through a range of initiatives, including, where appropriate, the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments from the private market. As housing authorities, it is a matter in the first instance for each local authority to determine the suitability of any units for acquisition. Indeed, responsibility for identifying and undertaking such social housing acquisitions is largely delegated to local authorities, so that they may respond flexibly to all opportunities to provide new social housing in their functional areas. Funding is provided on the basis that the houses are suitable for social housing use and are suitable also in terms of a range of other considerations, including sensitivity to local markets and value for money. Details on the number of social houses purchased by all local authorities are available on my Department's website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision. In addition to direct acquisitions by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) may acquire properties for social housing under the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Capital Advance Leasing Facility. Harnessing the capacity of existing vacant properties for social housing is a high priority for the Government. The establishment of the €70m Housing Agency fund for the acquisition of vacant properties from banks and investors for social housing use is an innovative new delivery stream and, through providing the Housing Agency with direct access to capital funding, the acquisition process for portfolio properties has been streamlined. The Housing Agency have made significant advances in terms of acquisitions to date and have been liaising with local authorities and AHBs nationwide. To date, the purchase of 383 properties has been completed. A key priority under Rebuilding Ireland is to increase the level of newly built social housing on a year by year basis. In 2016 and 2017, delivery programmes focussed on harnessing the best options available to secure early and increased delivery. This included acquisitions of vacant stock nationally, completions of unfinished estates, advancing straightforward build projects that could proceed quickly and ensuring that maximum use was secured from existing local authority housing, while in parallel the new-build pipeline was expanded significantly to underpin the much increased delivery projected for the years 2018 to 2021. In 2018, we will see the results of enhanced building capacity across Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, which will further enhance our scope to meet individuals’ and families’ needs across the country through additional stock. The total target for all the building programmes in 2018 is 4,969 units, which is more than 50% higher than the corresponding 2017 target. QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government if he will address an anomaly in the housing assistance payment whereby private rented properties may be deemed not to qualify for HAP even if the person otherwise qualifies for reasons of sustainable communities and or tenure mix; the basis upon which decisions relating to sustainable communities and or tenure mix HAP refusals are made; his views on the case of a person (details supplied); the number of such HAP applications refused due to this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) This is a family with 3 children, one of whom is autistic. They are currently expecting another child. They have lived in a property for 3 years which is owned by Cooperative Ireland. Their circumstances have recently changed and they have sought HAP through Carlow County Council. Her husband lost his job at Christmas and they are now in receipt of Social Welfare. Of the 70+ houses in the estate there only 15 are privately rented, the rest are social housing. The client’s property is privately rented and she has been paying €850 pm in rent. The client approached Cooperative Ireland and asked about getting HAP. The application has been refused. The Council have maintained that the property is Social housing and Local Authority run and therefore they can't accept HAP. The client has gone into arrears and Cooperative Ireland state that they will have to start to issue the rent arrears warning and NTQ. REPLY Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for housing support through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that individual household, in the administrative area of that local authority. Decisions in relation to HAP, including the suitability of HAP accommodation is a matter for the local authority concerned. One of the key functions of housing authorities is to provide or manage the provision of social housing support in a way that counteracts undue segregation between persons of different social backgrounds and ensures the provision of an appropriate mix of dwelling types and tenure classes. Accordingly, local authorities may refuse to provide HAP in an area where they consider there to be an over concentration of social housing supports in place. In relation to the Deputy’s specific query, while I am not in a position to intervene in individual cases, my Department has been advised by the relevant local authority that the family in question have sourced an alternative property and are approved for HAP support. QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Finance the status of the establishment of Home Building Finance Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien T.D. For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018. * To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated number of NAMA staff that will transfer into Home Building Finance Ireland; the date on which they will transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien T.D. For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018. * To ask the Minister for Finance the status of the setting up of Home Building Finance Ireland; when he expects this to be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Micheál Martin T.D. For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018. REPLY As announced in my Budget speech on 10 October 2017, Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) is to be established to provide funding on market terms to viable residential development projects whose owners are experiencing difficulty in obtaining debt funding. Up to €750 million of ISIF funds will be allocated to HBFI to provide funding on market terms and the fund is estimated to have capacity to finance about 6,000 homes in the coming years. The establishment of HBFI is a key priority for Government and the drafting of legislation is progressing as quickly as possible. Officials in the Department of Finance and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) are currently finalising the legal text of the HBFI Bill and I intend to publish the draft legislation in the coming weeks. In parallel to the ongoing work involved in drafting the text of the Bill, officials in my department have been engaging with the European Commission in order to ensure that the establishment and operation of HBFI complies with EU State aid rules and also engaging with industry and other stakeholders. Once published in the coming weeks I am hopeful that the Oireachtas will be in a position to pass the HBFI Bill before the end of the Spring/Summer legislative term, with a view to HBFI commencing operations later in 2018. HBFI will be designed to leverage off the extensive experience already available to the State to deliver this initiative and as such existing NAMA staff skills and expertise will be utilised to deliver this funding. It will be for the Board of HBFI, once constituted, to determine the exact staffing requirements of the fund with reference to its functions. It is envisaged that the HBFI Board, in consultation with the Board of the NTMA and with the approval of the Chief Executive and Board of NAMA, will determine the number of staff to be transferred from NAMA once HBFI is operational. It is expected that the assignment of staff to HBFI will commence shortly after the enactment of the legislation establishing HBFI. ______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 24/05/2018 Question Number(s): 232 Question Reference(s): 23049/18 Department: Housing, Planning and Local Government Asked by: Darragh O'Brien T.D. ______________________________________________ QUESTION To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government when he plans to publish the report into certain planning matters in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY My Department received a report from Senior Counsel in June 2017 regarding his Review Into Certain Planning Matters In Respect Of County Donegal. My Department is currently reviewing and assessing the contents of Senior Counsel’s report and I have requested the advice of the Attorney General in respect of a number of points, including the issue of publication and dissemination of the report and any further actions arising. When I have received the Attorney General’s advice, my Department will finalise a submission for my consideration, on foot of which I will be in a position to address the matter further. |
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December 2019
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