First social housing scheme for 11 years in Fingal sees progress

Fingal County Council has announced it has appointed a developer to construct the first affordable housing scheme in the county in 11 years.

The development at Dun Emer, Lusk will consist of 51 homes, 39 of which will be affordable while 12 will be social housing.

The development will be overseen by Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance.

In a statement, Fingal County Council said that the affordable homes will be made available to “eligibly first-time purchases.”

Prices for the units will be “around 25% below their market value,” according to the council.

The 39 units will be a mixture of two-bedroom apartments, three-bedroom duplexes, three-bedroom terraced and three-bedroom semi-detached.

Prices will start from €166,000 for the two-bedroom apartments; from €206,000 for the three-bedroom duplexes; from €250,000 for the three-bedroom terraced; and from €258,000 for the three bedroom semi-detached homes.

To be eligible for the scheme, the local authority says that a purchaser “must be a first-time buyer, although certain exceptions will apply.

“The property must be suited to the applicant’s household needs and they must have been resident in Fingal for more than 12 months.”

The county council says that income eligibility criteria will also apply so only single adult households that earn a maximum of €50,000 may be suitable.

Two adult households must earn a maximum of €75,000 to become eligible for the scheme too.

All persons must also have the right to reside indefinitely in Ireland.

The Mayor of Fingal, councillor David Healy, said that he hopes the process will move quickly.

“Councillors approved the Dun Emer Purchase Scheme last November, so I welcome the appointment of a developer which is the next step in the process.

“I hope that the process will continue to move quickly as councillors are very supportive of this scheme and are keen to introduce affordable housing into the county.”

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “The appointment of Ó Cualann is a welcome step towards the realisation of our affordable housing scheme at Dun Emer in Lusk.

“They bring some welcome experience on the delivery of affordable homes and understand the importance of this project in terms of overall housing delivery within Fingal.

“We are continuing to work on our plans to develop more affordable housing in Church Fields in Dublin 15, Cappagh in Dublin 11, Ballymastone in Donabate, and Hacketstown in Skerries where we are working with the Land Development Agency. “

According to the council, an equity charge will “protect the public interest against equity speculation.

This means that one of the conditions of sale under this scheme “is that the purchaser will remain liable to repay the percentage discount below market value that they benefited from when buying the property.

“They can pay this off at any time or if the property is sold,” it says.