The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien today (Wednesday, 17 January 2024) announced the launch of the next cycle of the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme which covers the three year period from 2024 to 2026.
The announcement today provides for €125m of capital investment in rural water infrastructure under eight different funding measures. Local authorities are invited to submit applications for funding from now until the closing date of 12 April 2024. Speaking on the launch today, the Minister said, “I am delighted to launch the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme that covers the next three-years to 2026.This programme is of vital importance in helping to provide safe and secure water services to rural areas that do not have access to Uisce Éireann services. “MARWP 2024-2026 aims to build upon the success of previous multi-annual rural water programmes. In designing the programme I have recognised the need to be responsive to the changing needs and requirements within the Rural Water Sector. As a result of extensive engagement and working in partnership with the key stakeholders in the Sector I have made some key improvements on previous programmes. I believe that these improvements will support Group Water Schemes to maintain, renew and develop their systems and networks, increasing their ability to provide safe, secure, resilient, high-quality water services to people in rural Ireland,” he concluded. Some of the key changes are a significant increase in the maximum grant available per house, to €15,000 from €9,000, and recognising the fragmented nature of the sector there is a dedicated funding measure for group water schemes to amalgamate and/or rationalise, supporting their sustainability and improved water quality for consumers into the future. To underpin the implementation of the programme the Department has drafted comprehensive documentation and extensive guidance for local authorities and group water schemes setting out their respective responsibilities and obligations. The Department will meet with local authorities in the coming weeks and will organise workshops to support them in the preparation of their submissions. The National Federation for Group Water Schemes has been requested to provide support to their members in the preparation of applications and crucially to deliver on projects.
The ‘Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ have now been issued to local authorities following previous public consultation in 2023. The Guidelines expand on Government policy in the National Planning Framework, in particular policies in relation to compact growth and sustainable living spaces. Issuing the Guidelines, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD said: “I very much welcome the publication of the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities. They are timely particularly in light of the Government’s overall objective to increase housing supply as set out under Housing for All and expand on the higher-level policies of the National Planning Framework (NPF) in relation to the creation of settlements that are compact, attractive, liveable and well designed. While progress continues to be made on housing delivery, the greater flexibility offered by these guidelines will help in achieving our aim of providing a broader range of housing options to meet the needs of a growing and more diverse population.” The Guidelines focus on the interaction between residential density, housing standards and quality urban design and placemaking. The Guidelines outline:
The Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell TD, said: “The approach in relation to residential density enables appropriate standards to be applied across a greater range of settlements. Furthermore, greater flexibility in residential design standards will support the delivery of compact ‘own door’ housing and a greater range of affordable housing options. The Guidelines also respond to our national obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of the environment and biodiversity and the transition towards net zero by 2050.” The Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities are issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Section 28 of the Act provides that planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála shall have regard to Ministerial guidelines in the performance of their functions. Where the guidelines contain specific planning policy requirements (SPPRs), planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála are required to apply these requirements in the performance of their functions. ENDS NOTES TO THE EDITOR A copy of the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities is available here. Housing standards: recognising the significant population growth forecast and changing demographics, and to achieve compact growth, medium density housing models should be facilitated, alongside traditional housing and apartment developments. Among the standards contained in the Guidelines are:
1 bed house 20 sq.metres 2 bed house 30 sq.metres 3 bed house 40 sq.metres 4 bed + house 50 sq.metres with provisions for further reductions where an equivalent amount of semi-private open space is provided in lieu of private open space.
Subject to the enactment of the Government’s Draft Planning and Development Bill 2023, these Ministerial guidelines are proposed to be updated to National Planning Statements. The National Planning Statements are proposed to be approved by Government and alignment with Policies and Measures contained therein will be mandatory, in that there will be a requirement for other plans to be materially consistent with them. Associated Policy Guidance will outline how these policies may be implemented. This will bring greater clarity and consistency to where national policy and guidance interacts with the planning system. Borrowing limit of the Housing Finance Agency to also be increased
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD today welcomed Government approval at today’s cabinet meeting for interim funding for the Land Development Agency (LDA) to ensure the delivery of their business plan in the short to medium term – with a total of approximately €5bn available to the agency up to 2025. The long term sustainable funding of the LDA will also be considered, as it delivers its programme of work up to 2028. Minister O’Brien today explained: “Under the LDA’s Business Plan 2024 – 2028, the agency will provide 12,900, primarily affordable cost rental, homes over the lifetime of the plan. This is a significant contribution to our overall objectives within Housing for All. “This emphasis on delivering social and affordable housing means that there has been a significant change in the scale and remit of the LDA – limiting the agency’s ability to access private debt finance and use revenue from private housing developed to subsidise other elements of its portfolio. “This Government is determined that the LDA is fully funded to play its full part in delivering much needed affordable and social homes under Housing for All. Only last week, the agency announced that it had started on the development of almost 220 affordable and social homes at the former Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co Kildare. This week the LDA announced that it has completed the purchase of lands in Clongriffin in north Dublin with planning permission for over 1,800 homes and the potential to deliver a total of over 2,300 affordable and social units. Today’s decision will give the agency the reassurance it needs to maintain this momentum.” Amongst today’s considerations, the Government decided to: • commit a further €1.25 billion from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund for share equity in the Land Development Agency as required; • agree to securing additional funding sources for a further €1.25 billion in funding for the LDA; • further develop and agree options for the sustainable future funding of the LDA in 2024. This additional funding, combined with the funding already allowed for under legislation (€2.5bn), means that the LDA may make funding commitments of up to €5bn, which should enable the agency to deliver into 2025 while longer term funding is developed and agreed. Meanwhile, the Government today also decided to approve an increase in the borrowing limit of the Housing Finance Agency. Minister O’Brien explained: “My Department will now move to legislate to increase the borrowing limit of the agency from €10b to €12bn. We are now delivering homes at a rate not seen since the crash and the Housing Finance Agency has a crucial role to play in sustaining this momentum – particularly in funding projects from approved housing bodies which have been so effective in delivering social housing.” This decision is in keeping with Housing for All (Action 18.5) which requires the Department to increase the borrowing capacity of the Housing Finance Agency to support the local government sector in land acquisition and the delivery of social and affordable homes. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has published its monthly data on the number of Commencements Notices (residential construction starts) for November 2023.
Overall, the data show that the number of commencements in the first 11 months of 2023 (29,634) already exceeds the total number for the whole of 2022 (26,957). The data also show that Commencement Notices for 3,087 new homes were received by Building Control Authorities in November 2023. This is an increase of 29% on the number of new homes commenced in the same month last year (2,402 units). The strong uptick in commencements this year has continued and 29,634 homes have been commenced in the first eleven months of 2023. This is a 17.7% increase on the same period last year (25,162) and a record for this period when compared to similar periods since the data series began in 2015. Of the 3,087 units commenced, 43% are scheme dwellings, 45% are apartments and 12% are for one-off units. The full commencement data set can be accessed at: Construction Activity Statistics. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage today [13 December] published the Q3 social and affordable housing delivery statistics following the standard and necessary verification processes.
The figures, which are largely in line with delivery during the same period in 2022, indicate that the strongest delivery in social housing will be seen in Q4 of this year which is typical in housing delivery. Affordable delivery in the first three quarters of 2023 has already exceeded what was delivered in 2022. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD said he was particularly pleased that current pipeline figures indicate that this year’s delivery of social homes is set to exceed last year’s output – which was the highest level of delivery since 1975. Social Housing The latest figures show that 2,528 new social homes were delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in Quarter 3, including 1,252 new-build homes, 573 acquisitions and 703 homes delivered through leasing programmes. Including Housing Assistance Payment (2,065) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (369) 4,962 housing supports were delivered in Quarter 3. Overall, in the first 9 months of 2023, 4,815 new social homes were delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, including 2,642 new-build homes, 1,033 acquisitions and 1,140 homes delivered through leasing programmes. When the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme are added, 12,184 housing supports were delivered in the first three quarters of 2023. Traditionally, the delivery of social housing by local authorities builds throughout the year and the bulk of delivery is achieved in Q4. This was the case in 2022 when 10,263 social homes were delivered (11.9% increase on 2021 figures) - the highest annual output of social homes in decades and the highest level of delivery of new-build housing since 1975. Minister O’Brien pointed out: “The current social housing pipeline indicates that last year’s record will be exceeded this year. The latest Construction Status Report shows the social housing pipeline is strong, with over 23,600 homes either onsite or at design and tender stage at the end of Q3 2023. Indeed, during Quarter 3 2023, 160 new construction schemes - almost 2,200 new homes - were added to the pipeline. “This delivery of social housing reflects the improvement in the overall housing sector, where 26,547 homes have been commenced in the first ten months of 2023 - a 16.6% increase on the same period last year. Furthermore, the latest CSO data on completions shows that that 22,443 new homes were completed in the first nine months, an 8.9 % increase on last year and the highest number of completions recorded for the first three quarters of any year since the CSO data series began in 2011. “This week we had more great news as Housing Body Respond announced several new home-building construction projects in Dublin that will deliver over 2,900 new social and cost rental homes upon completion. I am also aware that there will be news shortly from the Land Development Agency regarding the delivery of significant numbers of new social and affordable homes. “We have a gathering momentum in the delivery of homes – whether private, social or affordable – and we intend to keep our foot on the pedal throughout 2024 to build on this progress” Affordable Housing Today’s data from the Department also showed that to the end of Q3, over 2,000 affordable housing supports were delivered via Approved Housing Bodies, Local Authorities, the Land Development Agency (LDA), the Cost Rental Tenant-in-Situ (CRTiS) scheme and through the First Home Scheme. Over 2,500 First Home Scheme approvals have issued in the 15months since launch in July 2022, over 1,800 of which have been issued in 2023. Following delivery of the first Affordable Purchase homes in a generation, made available in 2022, over 150 Local Authority Affordable Purchase homes have been delivered in the first three quarters of this year. 1,015 affordable purchase homes have been advertised to date by local authorities in Carlow, Cork City, Cork County, Fingal, Kildare, Meath, Limerick, South Dublin, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow. Just last month the Minister announced funding of €24m for 250 affordable purchase homes in Dublin alone. These new affordable homes compliment the direct grants available for individuals and families to refurbish a vacant or derelict property. Up to €70,000 euro is available as a direct State support ensuring there are further options for those who wish to own their own home. To date, there are over 800 Cost Rental homes in the State delivered by Approved Housing Bodies (AHB’s), Local Authorities and the LDA. In addition, the Minister approved Cost Rental Equity Loan funding of €424m for Approved Housing Bodies which will support the delivery of over 1,650 new cost rental homes. Minister O’Brien added: “A very ambitious programme of affordable housing is now in place. New Government measures such as the increased financial support for delivery of Cost Rental homes by Approved Housing Bodies and the new Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental scheme, aim to address viability challenges in the sector and activate uncommenced sites for the provision of affordable housing. This momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by local authorities, by AHBs and by the LDA.” |
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November 2023
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