Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2026
476. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total cost to the development levy waiver and water utility connection for each year the waiver has been in operation, the number of homes against which the waiver was claimed in each year; and the average cost of the waiver in each year. [51394/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions and the refunding of Uisce Éireann water and waste water connection charges.
The Government recognised that measures needed to be put in place to help address cost and viability with a view to incentivising the activation of a pipeline of new housing commencements, and assisting in the delivery of supply as quickly as possible. The Development Contribution Scheme (DCS) waiver applied to all permitted residential development including multi-unit developments, self-build houses and one-off houses, student accommodation and sheltered housing.
The following table provides the total cost of the development contribution scheme waiver and water connection refund scheme for each year of the operation of the schemes and the number of units/developments that availed of the waiver/refund by local authority in respect of the schemes.
|
2023 Cost of DCS Waiver |
€54,488,969 |
|
2024 Cost of DCS Waiver |
€384,828,668 |
|
2025 Cost of DCS Waiver |
€158,644,529 |
|
2023 – No. of units that availed of the DCS Waiver |
8,251 |
|
2024 – No. of units that availed of the DCS Waiver |
55,249 |
|
2025 – No. of units that availed of the DCS Waiver |
19,313 |
|
2023 - Cost of Water Connection Charge Refund |
€1,670,704 |
|
2024 - Cost of Water Connection Charge Refund |
€76,596,502 |
|
2025 - Cost of Water Connection Charge Refund |
€173,967,681 |
|
2026 (to date) - Cost of Water Connection Charge Refund |
€60,075,781 |
|
2023 - No. of Units that availed of the Water Connection Charge Refund |
421 |
|
2024 - No. of Units that availed of the Water Connection Charge Refund |
16,246 |
|
2025 - No. of Units that availed of the Water Connection Charge Refund |
32,168 |
|
2026 (to date) - No. of Units that availed of the Water Connection Charge Refund |
10,139 |
The data indicates that the average cost of the development waiver scheme was just over €7,200 per residential unit to which it was applied and the average cost of the water connection waiver was just under €5,180 per unit to which it was applied, over the full period of operation.
