Councils must ‘accelerate’ plans to develop affordable homes, says McAuliffe

Dublin North West TD and Fianna Fail spokesperson on local Government Paul McAuliffe has called on local authorities to accelerate their plans to deliver affordable purchase homes on council land.

Speaking after the release of to the most recent Daft.ie report, Deputy McAuliffe said that the published figures “reinforce the need to convert solutions contained within Housing for All into delivery by Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).”

The Government’s Housing for All plan aims to increase housing supply for the next eight years, while also increasing access to affordable housing and moderating house price inflation.

“My colleagues and I in Government are cognisant of the challenges that exist at present for those wanting to own their own home,” he said.

“Budget 2022 made record State funding of €4 billion available for housing.

“This investment – a 20% increase on 2021 – will help boost supply and in turn should help moderate price inflation for many households, in particular, with the targeted range of measures to increase the supply of affordable homes under the plan.

“Housing for All commits to strengthening the capacity of Local Authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects.

“In December of last year, my party colleague and Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, approved more than 200 new posts for local authority housing delivery teams across the country to assist councils in delivering their social housing targets.

“Latest figures for building commencements indicate strong construction activity and increased housing supply, critical to meeting our housing needs.

“Overall, in the year to end February, Commencement Notices for the construction of 33,006 new homes were received. This is the highest rolling 12-month total since comparable data was first published.

“This increase in construction activity, will support increased supply which is critical to making home ownership more affordable.

“To further increase supply, I am calling on Local Authorities and AHBs to accelerate their plans to deliver affordable purchase homes on council land.

“There is enough council owned land available in the Ballymun area for example,  to provide for the development of up to 2,000 new homes and it is imperative that we increase the supply of affordable housing which is now in the gift of Local Authorities.”