Written Answers Nos. 149-155
149. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration has been given to increasing the household income thresholds in the Housing (Mortgage Subsidy) Regulations in line with inflation. [30425/24]
View answerMy Department continues to provide funding to local authorities under the legacy Affordable Housing Scheme for payment of mortgage subsidy to qualifying households based on income thresholds. The Scheme was stood down in June 2011 and householders who entered into agreements prior to the standing down of the scheme remain eligible for subsidy based on income.
New affordable housing measures, as outlined in the Housing for All, aim to deliver 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through the First Home scheme, a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Since the launch of Housing for All, over 5,800 affordable housing solutions have been delivered. In 2023 alone, over 4,000 affordable housing supports have been delivered via our delivery partners, an output which has more than doubled since the previous year, and represents an increase of 128% on 2022 activity, which highlights the significant progress achieved to date in relation to affordable housing from a standing start. Our various schemes are now operating at scale, with this momentum continuing as the pipeline is developed.
Other measures such as the Local Authority Home Loan, the Help to Buy Incentive, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, and the Ready to Build Scheme are also available to help make homeownership more affordable.
150. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that any decision making on future regulations with regard to restricting the hunting of wild birds in Ireland is transparent and evidence based with reference to actual conservation data and trends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30431/24]
View answerI am committed to fair procedures in all that I and my Department does. As this question relates to an issue before the courts, I am precluded from making any other comment on this matter.
151. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the National Parks and Wildlife Service stakeholder forum will be established (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30432/24]
View answerThe establishment of a structured stakeholder forum is an action in the Strategic Action Plan for the renewal of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). It is hoped to establish the stakeholder forum by the end of Q1 2025 with a wide range of stakeholders. The NPWS would welcome the participation of the organisation referred to in the forum.
152. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding provided for compulsory purchase orders of properties and the number of properties compulsorily purchased in each of the past five years, by local authority, in tabular form. [30451/24]
View answerAddressing vacancy is a key priority for this government.
The Vacant Homes Action Plan, which I originally published in January 2023, built on Pathway 4 of Housing for All and set out the various actions that were being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes. I recently published an update on the Action Plan a year on which shows the significant progress that is being made and it is available here on my Department's website: gov - Vacant Homes Action Plan 2023-2026 (www.gov.ie).
Under the Action Plan, a new CPO Activation Programme was launched by my Department in April 2023. The Programme supports a proactive and systematic approach by local authorities to the activation of vacant properties. It also includes guidance for local authorities to actively use their legislative powers to acquire vacant and derelict properties, where engagement with owners has been unsuccessful. Support and guidance on implementation of the Programme is being provided to local authorities by the Vacant Homes Unit in my Department and by the Property Optimisation Unit in the Housing Agency.
Under the Programme each local authority is to collate data in relation to these properties, activity undertaken by them and outcomes, including the scheme or measure used where the property was brought back into use.
Also under the Action Plan, I announced a €150 million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties for reuse or sale, using their compulsory purchase powers were necessary. The Fund will be replenished from the proceeds received from the sale or reuse of a site, allowing a local authority to establish a rolling programme to tackle vacancy. More than 1,200 vacant and derelict properties have now been identified and approved under the scheme and the estimated residential yield from these properties is 5,406 homes.
In addition to URDF funding, the Social Housing Capital Funding Programmes (Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) and the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS)) support local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to tackle vacancy and dereliction through the purchase and renewal of vacant buildings and blocks as new social homes. The funding for local authorities to purchase, including compulsory purchase and renew vacant buildings as new social homes is drawn from the €1.4 billion capital funding available under the Social Housing Capital Funding Programmes and is demand-led.
The Housing Finance Agency can also provide funding for local authorities for the compulsory purchase or acquisition of vacant and derelict properties.
There is, therefore, significant available funding that local authorities can draw on in relation to the compulsory purchase or acquisition of vacant and derelict properties, in order to bring them back into use.
My Department does not have data compiled on the total number of properties compulsorily purchased by local authority in each of the past 5 years.
The most efficient home to deliver is one which already exists. I firmly believe that the commitment this Government has made to addressing vacancy and dereliction will continue to play a vital role in delivering homes and revitalising local communities.
153. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to increase collection of the derelict sites levy; to increase the number of sites on the register and the actions he is taking to ensure local authorities fulfil their statutory obligations in terms of the Derelict Sites Act 1990. [30452/24]
View answerThe Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The enforcement and implementation of the provisions of the Act is a matter for individual local authorities.
A property can be placed on the derelict site register where it is deemed by a local authority to satisfy the criteria of a derelict site under the terms of section 3 of the Act i.e. (i) it is in a dangerous or ruinous condition; (ii) it is in a neglected or unsightly condition; or (iii) there is a presence of litter, waste or debris on the site. A property cannot be placed on the derelict site register of a local authority simply by being vacant.
It is also worth noting that placing sites on the derelict sites register, and collecting levies in respect of those sites, is not the sole mechanism that local authorities apply under the Act in relation to bringing sites back into use. They often engage collaboratively with property owners with a view to necessary works being undertaken to bring sites back into use while also using their powers under the Act to compulsorily acquire derelict sites.
My Department initiated a review of the Derelict Sites Act in November 2021 and invited local authorities to make initial submissions on potential improvements to the legislative provisions and the way they are applied. The group met on three occasions during 2022 and discussions on the review are continuing to date. I will consider the recommendations contained in the report of the working group once it is received.
The scope for the engagement of additional staff resources in local authorities to assist in the more effective enforcement and implementation of the provisions of the Act is also being explored in my Department in the context of an ongoing review of the staff resourcing needs of local authorities generally.
154. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the local connection rule applies to people fleeing domestic violence seeking social housing support. [30456/24]
View answerThe qualification criteria for social housing support are set down in Section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.
A household may apply for social housing support to one local authority only, which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it has a local connection, or where the authority agrees, at its discretion, to assess the household for support.
Therefore, in accordance with the Regulations there is discretion for a local authority to accept applications from any household, including people fleeing domestic violence, that is not resident in its functional area without having established a local connection with the authority’s functional area. Accepting such an application is entirely a matter for the individual authority concerned.
155. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide the level of housing rent arrears in each local authority for the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30506/24]
View answerDetails of the total rent collected by local authorities and the levels of arrears are contained in the annual local authority Audit Reports prepared by the Local Government Audit Service and published by my Department. With the exception of Cavan County Council, the 2023 Audit Reports are not yet available. Details of rent local authority rent arrears from 2019 are included on the table attached.
The collection of rents and the management of arrears is a matter for individual local authorities.
|
Local Authority |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Carlow County Council |
380,000 |
260,000 |
350,000 |
570,000 |
Not available |
|
Cavan County Council |
1,000,000 |
1,400,000 |
1,600,000 |
1,900,000 |
2,100,000 |
|
Cork City Council |
4,900,000 |
5,000,000 |
5,100,000 |
4,900,000 |
Not available |
|
Cork County Council |
520,000 |
-30,000 |
-120,000 |
1,050,000 |
Not available |
|
Clare County Council |
1,420,000 |
1,430,000 |
1,500,000 |
1,600,000 |
Not available |
|
Donegal County Council |
1,500,000 |
1,400,000 |
1,200,000 |
1,500,000 |
Not available |
|
Dublin City Council |
31,500,000 |
34,300,000 |
35,000,000 |
37,000,000 |
Not available |
|
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council |
4,300,000 |
4,400,000 |
5,000,000 |
5,400,000 |
Not available |
|
Fingal County Council |
4,300,000 |
6,000,000 |
7,200,000 |
7,900,000 |
Not available |
|
Galway County Council |
808,000 |
765,900 |
857,000 |
1,220,000 |
Not available |
|
Galway City Council |
2,000,000 |
2,300,000 |
2,300,000 |
2,300,000 |
Not available |
|
Kerry County Council |
980,000 |
1,210,000 |
1,100,000 |
1,200,000 |
Not available |
|
Kildare County Council |
1,200,000 |
1,200,000 |
1,200,000 |
1,300,000 |
Not available |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
500,000 |
400,000 |
300,000 |
400,000 |
Not available |
|
Laois County Council |
260,000 |
510,000 |
310,000 |
270,000 |
Not available |
|
Leitrim County Council |
260,000 |
240,000 |
140,000 |
80,000 |
Not available |
|
Limerick City and County Council |
6,300,000 |
6,300,000 |
6,700,000 |
5,200,000 |
Not available |
|
Longford County Council |
737,000 |
840,000 |
800,000 |
883,000 |
Not available |
|
Louth County Council |
3,100,000 |
3,000,000 |
2,500,000 |
2,600,000 |
Not available |
|
Mayo County Council |
1,000,000 |
1,100,000 |
1,300,000 |
1,100,000 |
Not available |
|
Meath County Council |
1,300,000 |
1,600,000 |
1,670,000 |
2,290,000 |
Not available |
|
Monaghan County Council |
200,000 |
160,000 |
190,000 |
200,000 |
Not available |
|
Offaly County Council |
730,000 |
580,000 |
480,000 |
560,000 |
Not available |
|
Roscommon County Council |
475,000 |
394,000 |
371,000 |
525,000 |
Not available |
|
Sligo County Council |
1,350,000 |
1,180,000 |
1,300,000 |
1,300,000 |
Not available |
|
South Dublin County Council |
8,200,000 |
9,500,000 |
10,100,000 |
9,300,000 |
Not available |
|
Tipperary County Council |
790,000 |
520,000 |
560,000 |
2,080,000 |
Not available |
|
Waterford City and County Council |
4,100,000 |
4,400,000 |
3,900,000 |
3,900,000 |
Not available |
|
Westmeath County Council |
160,000 |
170,000 |
140,000 |
230,000 |
Not available |
|
Wexford County Council |
1,800,000 |
1,300,000 |
900,000 |
1,200,000 |
Not available |
|
Wicklow County Council |
1,850,000 |
2,740,000 |
2,800,000 |
3,300,000 |
Not available |
