Written Answers Nos. 743-746
743. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); to clarify the policy changes in relation to the criteria for the capital advance leasing facility scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30938/26]
View answerCALF is a loan facility, which is exclusively available to AHBs to assist them with access to private or Housing Finance Agency (HFA) loan finance for construction and Turnkey projects that will deliver homes to be made available for social housing support purposes where the ongoing funding is provided through the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP).
The facility is only available as part of a project where the AHB makes homes available under a Payment & Availability (P&A) agreement to nominees of the housing authority for a set period of time. P&A payments together with the CALF have become one of the main funding mechanisms for the supply of new social housing by AHB's.
Projects submitted for CALF funding are assessed on a case-by-case basis and the relevant funding unit in my Department engages directly with the relevant AHBs on any specific project which is not deemed eligible for support.
There has been no change to the policy of the scheme in relation to the size of developments that are considered for eligible for funding. The CALF team continue to have regular dialogue with individual AHBs in the sector and their representative bodies on various aspects of the Scheme.
If further details can be supplied regarding the AHB in question, I can clarify the position in respect of CAS funding.
744. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities are obliged to participate in inter-county/council tenant-in-situ agreements/arrangements; whether they decide that they will only consider the scheme for families/individuals on their own housing waiting lists; if he will provide the guidelines or circular addressing this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30971/26]
View answerTenancy sustainment, tenant in situ is an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. Such acquisitions are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted.
However, they will never be the sole, or even the primary, option. The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the Tenancy Sustainment and Placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or Approved Housing Body tenancy via a new build home or re-let.
When no other option is available, local authorities have delegated sanction to pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to my Department, subject to the broad parameters and criteria of the Social Housing Second Hand Acquisitions Programme.
In this context, it is solely a matter for each local authority to determine whether an acquisition is the appropriate policy response in a given situation. Accordingly, and given they are best placed to determine the most appropriate response in any case, it is solely a matter for each local authority or number of local authorities to decide whether they engage, or otherwise, in inter-authority arrangements related to any second hand acquisition.
745. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being undertaken in order that householders in the Fingal County Council jurisdiction whose homes have pyrite can get financial support with the remediation of those homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30977/26]
View answerThe Pyrite Remediation Scheme was set up to remediate dwellings that have been significantly damaged as a result of pyritic heave caused by the swelling of hardcore under ground floor slabs. The Scheme was launched in February 2014 and a total of 2,932 homes have had remediation completed to the end of 2025. The remediated homes are spread across nine local authority areas, with the majority located within the Fingal County Council boundary.
One of the eligibility requirements of the Pyrite Remediation Scheme was that a dwelling must have a level of damage that achieves a Damage Condition Rating of 2, defined in Irish Standard I.S. 398-1:2017 Part 1 and explained in Section 3.3 of the Pyrite Remediation Scheme.
In February 2026, the Pyrite Remediation Scheme was been widened to include applications for dwellings that have a Damage Condition Rating of 1 (DCR1) with progression, subject to satisfying the eligibility requirements of the revised scheme.
There are two significant elements to the widening of the Scheme:
• To apply under DCR1 with progression, the damage exhibited to the floor slab has to be at or above a certain specified level; and
• The testing and assessment to determine inclusion will be undertaken by the Housing Agency, with oversight and approval by the Pyrite Resolution Board.
The Pyrite Remediation Scheme will close to applications on 30 November 2026. The works programme will continue up to the end of 2029 when it is expected that all dwellings that have been significantly damaged as a result of pyritic heave will be remediated.
The management and operation of the scheme, including application processing, is a matter for the Pyrite Resolution Board, details of which can be found on the Pyrite Resolution Board website at www.pyriteboard.ie.
