Vol. 1030 No. 4
5. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the development of the register of relevant lands; if the Land Development Agency, LDA, is on track to complete the register and make it available online by the end of quarter 4 2022, as per the target date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59701/22]
My question is specific. I am asking for an update on the status of the development of the register of relevant lands and if the LDA is on track to complete the register.
The LDA is on schedule to complete the register of relevant lands in line with the target delivery date and the register will be made available in an online map format in the coming weeks and in advance of the end of this year. Its contents are informed by the LDA's State lands database and by engagement with the Property Registration Authority, Ordinance Survey Ireland and other relevant public bodies.
Relevant public land is defined in the Land Development Agency Act 2021 as all land within a census town owned by a relevant public body. A census town is any urban area with a population of over 10,000, accurate to the latest census information. The register will serve as an important and strategic mapping tool that will show the extent of public lands and help to enhance transparency regarding State land interests. The register will be maintained and updated by the LDA. The register will support the LDA's remit to identify and assess the potential of certain public lands to be better utilised for the development of housing and other development into the future. The database being available in full is important progress and I expect it will play a significant role in identifying public land for strategic development for both social and affordable housing.
I want to confirm to the Deputy that it is on track and on schedule. I expect to see details on it next week and as soon as the work is concluded it will be published in an online format with a mapping tool so everyone can access it. We want to see idle State lands in particular developed for social and affordable housing. Thankfully we are seeing that this year and we are seeing the LDA deliver its first homes this year. We have seen significant sites like Shanganagh Castle start and there are many others across the country I want to see us move forward with, including in the Deputy's constituency in Galway.
I welcome that positive news. However, I stay guarded in my welcome because the LDA was set up on a non-statutory basis over four years ago and the first job it had to do was carry out an audit. Over four years later we do not have the audit. It has been on a statutory basis for over a year and we still do not have the audit. I welcome the audit and if the Minister is saying we will have it by the end of the year that is positive. We need that; it is the most basic tool and we have a housing crisis. As I listen to the headlines today, once again the head of the Simon Community in Galway has made known her fear at what is happening in Galway. The level of homelessness is rising and there are no available properties under the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, or the housing assistance programme, HAP.
On the register of relevant lands, the most basic thing is to get it and then we will see how it will be used. I have a worry that we might use some of it inappropriately in an emergency situation. If land is zoned as recreational and amenity land, I have a difficulty with the possibility of that land being taken.
I thank the Deputy again for the question. I understand what she is saying. One of the priorities I had when I became a Minister was to legislate for the LDA, which we have done. The agency has capitalised and it is delivering its first homes. It has done extensive work on planning and mapping out relevant sites.
It is important that people understand that the register of relevant lands will show the State-owned lands. I remember this coming up in debates before. It is not a question that high amenity or recreational lands will be used, even if they are included in the register. It will show what the zoning of those lands is and then we will decide what the appropriate use will be.
In communities where recreational land is zoned as such, we have enough idle State land to deliver homes on residentially zoned land or on brownfield sites within our towns and cities. Those are the sites we are going to be focusing on. I assure Deputy Connolly of this.
I find it a little reassuring that we will be focusing on brownfield sites. I worry, however, about recreational land. I hear what the Minister is saying, but I have seen previous moves to change this designation. Many times these have come about via motions from councillors. This is still being done in Galway, where land is still being rezoned. This is one aspect of the matter. I think of Merlin Park Woods and the huge battle to save it. This is the equivalent of the park in New York, which started out at 800 acres. Merlin Park Wood in Galway is 150 acres and it should be used to its maximum potential for amenities.
Be that as it may, what about organisations that are not public entities, such as religious organisations or other institutions that have land? Will we ever look at this context to see what potential exists in this regard? Regarding Galway city, I worry there is no overall master plan for the common good. There is no architect and no joined-up thinking between the public land and the docks, Ceannt Station, Sandy Road and Headford Road. This is a serious concern.
I know Galway city and county well. I have been out in Connemara on several occasions as well as in the city. There are lands in the county, such as the Dyke Road site, which the Deputy will be familiar with. There is also the Sandy Road site. There are sites there we can develop. The register will deal with State lands. The Deputy mentioned the example of lands owned by religious orders. We are seeing some of that come forward in local areas. I want to see that happen. I have written to both of the main churches and engaged with them regarding how we can get this land for use for the development of housing. Fundamentally, we need more homes. We need more social homes. I am pleased to tell the Deputy we are going to deliver more social homes this year - new-build social homes and new social homes - than we have in decades, as well as affordable homes for the first time in a generation. This is happening and I welcome the Deputy's support for this.
I genuinely believe, and I mean this, that I do not believe, through the Land Development Agency, LDA, local residents anywhere in the country should have concerns regarding land zoned for recreation being used in an inappropriate way. We have enough land that can be developed. The Deputy mentioned the docks site in Galway city. I am also very familiar with it and I am anxious to see us move forward with this project. The good thing this year is that we have seen work start on significant sites, such as Shanganagh, as I mentioned, and St. Kevin's in Cork. Work has started on these projects and these are the ones we are going after.
6. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant; if the current grant amounts will be reviewed to entice more persons into the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59669/22]
One thing that is clear is that urban dereliction and decay is rampant in our country and this Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant is a game changer in terms of incentivising occupation of these dwellings and commercial spaces, because some can be commercial, provided they have been vacant for two years and were built before 1993. Will the Minister of State review grant amounts or change them in any way to encourage more people to get involved in refurbishment in every part of the country, urban and rural, and in our cities and towns?
Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas in our cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight, as was said, of vacant properties which, if brought back to use, could add to the vibrancy and provide accommodation in those areas. A suite of measures under pathway 4 to address vacancy and efficient use of existing stock includes a variety of actions to address vacancy. I welcome the opportunity to mention some of these briefly.
The Government launched the town centre first policy, which is a major policy initiative that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe life into our town centres. We also ensuring a vacant homes officer position is in all local authorities as a full-time role. As the Deputy mentioned, the Croí Cónaithe towns fund is supporting the refurbishment of vacant and derelict properties through the vacant homes refurbishment grant, which we launched in July. This is supporting the provision of serviced sites for housing to attract people to build their own homes through the ready-to-build scheme, which the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, launched in September.
Additionally, we are introducing a new programme for the use of compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, for vacant properties for resale on the open market. We have reformed the fair deal scheme to remove disincentives to selling or renting unused homes. The Department of Finance is working to introduce a vacant property tax in the near future. We have also extended the planning regulations to exempt certain vacant commercial premises from requiring planning permission to change use to residential purposes. We are supporting local authorities to engage in targeted acquisitions of vacant and underutilised properties and there is a new buy and renew element of the social housing programme to support town and village renewal. Equally, we are supporting local authorities to drive expanded takeup of the enhanced repair and leasing scheme.
As I mentioned, in July the vacant property refurbishment grant, as part of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched. The grant was initially launched in respect of vacant properties in towns and villages, but I am pleased to say that, from 15 November, the expanded grant also includes eligible vacant properties in cities and rural areas. The Deputy mentioned this aspect. A grant of a maximum of up to €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, including the conversion of a property which had not previously been used for residential purposes. Where refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €30,000, a maximum top-up grant of €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict. This brings the total grant available for a derelict property to a maximum of €50,000. The feedback regarding the grant has been positive, with 419 applications reported to the start of November. There has, therefore, been good uptake. I expect that the numbers will increase further following the expansion of the grant.
Regarding the level of the grant available, this will be kept under review, as will the operation of the scheme in general. It should be noted the grants are also available to homeowners under the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. The overall support package being provided by the State is substantial. Vacant homes officers are in place in each local authority to provide applicants with further details of both schemes. I also note our Department is preparing a vacant homes strategy to capture and report on progress across all the objectives of pathway 4 and under planned actions to continue to bring vacant homes into use and to maximise the use of existing stock. It is intended to publish this strategy early in the new year.
I agree these are comprehensive, continually changing and improving ways of getting people into homes they so badly need. The Minister of State mentioned vacant homes officers. I think we initially paid about €30,000 or €40,000 for local authorities to keep these people in employment. In fact, it turned out that most of them were doing nothing in respect of vacant homes. The grant to councils was increased to get more feedback and to get more commitment from them. Is there or will there be a quarterly report or a website report from each county council or housing authority giving information in numerical form regarding their targets, who they have contacted, what action has been taken and what issues have arisen? It is not acceptable that local authorities take funds from the State and from the Minister and the Minister of State's Department and sit on them and use them for other purposes, as was clearly the case.
The Minister of State mentioned CPOs. Louth County Council had a proactive plan for three years where it got more than 100 houses, which were vacant and derelict, back into commission for an average cost, including legal costs, of under €200,000. I appreciate the Minister of State talking about a new national strategy in this regard. I hope he is. I ask him to give me an account of this.
One small issue with the Croí Cónaithe vacant property scheme as I understand it, and I hope I am reading this correctly - the Minister of State can correct me if I am wrong - is that a first-time buyer can buy and move into a property whereas an existing property owner would have to sell or vacate their previous home if they were going to refurbish a derelict property in the centre of a town. If this is the case, then it might be wiser to also allow such people, if they own and are refurbishing properties under this plan, to rent or lease them to the local authorities for five to ten years. There is already the repair and lease scheme. I have looked at this. People can get their money back over so many years. If this initiative is to encourage more vacant property owners to refurbish the flat over the shop, they will not live in it but the grant would help them initially because they do not have the capacity to borrow that money. This is an important debate. It is important to raise these points.
There are several questions to address. Regarding the vacant homes officers, this is a dedicated position in local authorities and is critically important.
It is critically important local authorities use that resource wisely.
It is important, too, that every local authority should have a conservation officer. We are talking here about a lot of 18th century or 19th century properties and there is a need for good guidance and advice to property owners in terms of renovation. It is important there is a network of conservation officers throughout the country who are supporting this regeneration. That is something that should be stressed to all local authorities and something we are doing.
I am familiar with the CPO, particularly in Louth County Council. Deputy O'Dowd is correct that some local authorities are better than others and Louth has been very good. It has made good use of the CPO powers. I encourage all local authorities to do the same. It is a considerable power they have to bring properties back into productive use. We will certainly encourage that.
We will certainly keep under review the entire process we have under pathway 4. The opportunity exists under repair and lease for property owners to do up a second property . That should be considered as well. We have that consistently under review.
In terms of the specific role, there is a vacant homes unit in the Department. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will be setting up a town centre first unit as well. A synergy of actions is taking place now that we believe is unprecedented in terms of turning around the fortunes of our urban centres and bringing in many of these thousands of properties we see that could be reused.
The Department also has a national architecture policy. We are also bringing out guidance on thermal comfort, which is the energy retrofitting of traditional buildings in urban centres. This will be useful guidance because the modern methods of thermal retrofitting may not be appropriate for older buildings.
All in all, we have a suite of policies, plans and actions costed and funded to support a significant regeneration throughout the country.
For clarity, will there be a report from the vacant homes officers nationally so that we can read and see what they are doing? They have to be seen to be accountable. The outcome of their work must be visible and clear. I repeat that that was clearly not the case in the past.
The Minister of State welcomes CPO and I respect him for saying so. Is there a plan to manage it? Will the Department appoint a person, persons or a unit that will drive that? We cannot take no from local authorities if they do not take the low-hanging fruit. There is a lot of low-hanging fruit - at least a couple of thousand houses - that could be subject to CPO tomorrow if local authorities had the determination and gumption to do it. Some of them do it. Some of them are afraid to go near it and that is not acceptable.
Lastly, the carrots are there. The stick, in the form of the vacant property tax, is only just. It does not go far enough. Certainly, if properties are vacant in rent pressure zones, we should charge them a significant amount of money, which should be 3%, 4% or 5% of the property values in that area, to make them do something with it. It is unacceptable that families are deprived of turning a key in a door when somebody who owns that door is not using it, will not use it, only wants the home to appreciate in value and does not give a damn about the social policies which must come first. It is people before property in this case.
I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy O'Dowd. The vacant property tax is the responsibility of the Department of Finance and it is kept under review. I take note of the points the Deputy made.
The Housing Agency is overseeing CPOs. It is down to individual local authorities to be proactive. Some, as I said, are better than others. It is critically important there is a uniform approach to it. Local authorities can compare their own actions. There is the network of local authorities, through the County and City Management Association, CCMA, and the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, meets with them regularly. It is important they themselves are able to compare some of the measures they are taking and that they try to replicate best practice.
Similarly, with the vacant homes officers, there should be a network of those officers and they should be meeting regularly to report back to the Department on the actions they are taking. Often, it is complex and difficult to work with property owners. One literally has to go through each property forensically and work with the property owners to try to reactivate those properties. It is a tricky task but it can be done. There have been good experiences in my local authority where they have been proactive, have gone after and have worked with the property owners to unlock the potential in the properties. It is frustrating to see the level of vacant properties around the country given the housing demand.
Year after year.
Absolutely. The measures are in place and we are very supportive.
8. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the percentage rate at which new housing starts are reducing; the steps his Department is taking to tackle the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58972/22]
44. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures that have been taken to counteract the decline in housing commencements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58931/22]
Only 390 applications have been made to the Croí Cónaithe initiative so far, according to a reply to parliamentary question I received only in the past week.
More than 400.
Nearly 500.
I am not looking to ask this particular question in a combative manner because there is a crisis and the Minister has an interest in trying to fix it, but I still believe we are not focusing on the builder-level reason homes are not being built. When I talk to dozens of builders in my constituency, they tell me they are not building and they have not built in years. We have to get to the reason builders are not building in a housing crisis.
On the Croí Cónaithe initiative, for the record there are nearly 500 applicants in already and many of them are processed. I am not sure what date that question response went up to. I welcome the Deputy's question. As the Deputy will be aware, Deputy Bruton has asked a similar question.
Housing for All, which is the Government's plan, has been debated in the House and people will be aware of it. It is to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per annum - we will need to exceed that - over the next decade. More than 300,000 new homes will be built under this plan by 2030, including 90,000 new social homes, at least 36,000 affordable purchase homes, and 18,000 cost rental. Housing for All supply is key to improving our housing system. Thankfully, that supply is increasing this year. We set a target of 24,600 this year. We will exceed that quite substantially. It is important people are aware of that.
There were 26,600 units commenced in the year to October 2022. That is a 14% decrease on the same period last year when 30,947 units were commenced. Notwithstanding that, an uplift in supply is forecast for 2023 and 2024 relative to 2021 and we are on track, as I said, to exceed our housing target for this year. While that is positive, we have to acknowledge that issues have emerged over recent months, including those arising from the war in Ukraine, the unprecedented inflationary pressures and rising interest rates. These are having an impact on the momentum of home delivery, as reflected in those commencement figures to which the Deputy referred. We are responding to these challenges. On 2 November, we published the first annual update of Housing for All. The update focuses on what we can effectively do to fill that gap. It focuses on priority measures which will improve viability and accelerate supply.
The point the Deputy makes about how to get the smaller and medium-sized builders back in building is a valid one. I would not understate the importance in Housing for All of the State putting in more than €4.5 billion. We need €12 billion a year to deliver the homes we need, but it gives certainty in the sector that the State is the largest single actor in that market. We are such through measures such as the extension of the LDA's Project Tosaigh, the Croí Cónaithe cities initiative, the very significant increase in the subvention under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, which was sought by local authorities and which we have provided, and the recent increase in changes we made to the cost rental loan for approved housing bodies, AHBs, which will further improve that viability. That is helping drive the additional supply we need. These are some of the shorter-term actions being undertaken now to provide State support and stimulate home delivery, which has been delayed due to inflationary pressures.
Other positive indications worth noting are, as I have said on many occasions, that the Government believes in the delivery of social homes at a scale we have not seen in decades. We believe in homeownership too. We believe in helping people to buy their own homes. We have the highest level of first-time buyers in the market since 2007, with more than 16,240 homes purchased in the year to the end of September. They are purchasing over 50% of new-build properties.
To answer the Deputy's question, the shorter term measures we looked at around Project Tosaigh, increasing the subvention under the affordable housing fund and accelerating social housing delivery are clear indications to the sector that the State is responding to those inflationary pressures.
There is also the work done by the Minister, Deputy McGrath, on the inflation framework to ensure that many sites that may have stopped because of rising costs did not stop and are continuing with housing delivery. I will come back with a supplementary response.
With all the figures, plans and language, if we are to boil this down we have record house prices, record rents and record homelessness. We are at the worst point so far of the housing crisis over the past ten years. Last year the Government missed its target by 5,000. It had a target of 28,000 builds and it built 23,000. This year's target is smaller than last year's target of 28,000 builds. We now have a situation whereby the number of commencements, which are the likely houses for the coming years, is down. We are in a very scary place. The pressure coming on the system is absolutely horrendous as a result of everything going in the wrong direction on this. We need to get to a situation whereby small builders throughout the country can build. They cannot build under the current system of inflation as the Minister mentioned. I suggest that we reduce the taxation that exists in the construction industry and allow to mitigate against the cost. We should reduce the size of the contracts being offered by the Government at present. In recent times Sisk obtained the contract for the foundations of the new modular homes being built. It is contacting builders at present to subcontract the work. These are builders who should have been able to pitch for these contracts on a smaller scale. This creates a layer of costs in the system that is of no benefit to citizens.
I have been in all of the 31 local authority areas throughout the country. Let us not catastrophise this with regard to supply. The Deputy cannot just take one figure and say everything is going in a downward trajectory. It is not. We are aware of the challenges which, by the way, are not unique to Ireland. There are the rising cost of funding and inflationary pressures. We saw positive news yesterday on eurozone inflation and Ireland's inflation rate is below this. This is because we have a strong and robust economy with near full employment.
We do have serious challenges in housing and there is no question about this. Housing for All is just over one year old. The first target we set under Housing for All was 24,600 for this year and we will exceed it substantially. I look forward to all Deputies welcoming the fact that supply is increasing. We will deliver more new social homes this year than we have done in decades. This includes affordable homes for the first time in the Deputy's constituency of Meath West. I have been in Meath and I have seen developments being carried out by smaller builders. We absolutely want them involved also. There is no question about that. Housing for All allows this to happen. The modular home delivery for our friends from Ukraine is being managed separately as a specific item. We will be looking at new modern methods of construction and fast tracking planning, and I look forward to the Deputy's support on this, to deliver an additional number of social homes above and beyond the targets we have set for next year.
The Minister is the fifth holder of the office to read roughly the same script into the Chamber-----
It was not a script.
It was not scripted.
The language is a single transferable speech over a decade at this stage.
Not true.
The key issue is that a construction company in Navan that was building for the council went bust very recently. We need to know why builders cannot build and make a profit. They are scared of the risk that exists in the market and, therefore, they are not getting involved in it. The costs are not being mitigated at some level by the Government, such as through a reduction of taxation on building materials. We need accessible contracts for which smaller builders can tender. We also need to get rid of some of the bureaucratic red tape that exists at local authority level. Until we do all of this we will not get to a situation where homes will be built. Everything else is by the by. Everything else is missing the point completely. If a builder cannot build a house for a profit and take on the risk houses will not be built. This is the case for the majority of small builders in the country today.
My response to Deputy Tóibín was not scripted. It is not the same script over the past ten years.
I do not want to get into the rhetoric.
I am responding to what you said. I fully respect the Deputy's right have a point of view. There are issues in Ireland and throughout Europe and there is no question about this. In Deputy Tóibín's home town of Navan how many homes are being built at present and how many homes are being planned? Look at what is happening in Meath West and throughout the country. Of course there are challenges to make sure we have small and medium builders involved in housing. I see this throughout the country. It is happening. It is not just the top three or four that are building. Housing for All gives us the ability. It is not a ten-year-old plan. It is about 14 or 15 months old. It is bringing about the planning changes we need to reduce costs and design changes to reduce costs and affordability measures. This year we have people for the first time in a generation buying affordable homes. This is because of the Affordable Housing Act the Government brought forward. It was not supported by many Deputies on the other side of the House. I recognise the issues the Deputy has raised. We are acutely conscious of them. We work with builders throughout the country to deliver the supplies we need. We need to get above the 33,000 average.
Something that must be addressed, and is being addressed, is the question of a skills shortages. We are short approximately 20,000 workers with the appropriate skills to build the more than 33,000 houses we want. In this respect the new centre in Drogheda for training apprentices with a €4.5 million investment will see 400 apprentices going through it over the next 12 months. This is the future. On the question the Deputy asked, there are other issues that have to be addressed also.
We are under time constraints.
I accept that. The Acting Chair has been very nice to me.
The Minister, Deputy Harris, has done an excellent job on apprenticeships. Thankfully we are seeing a substantial increase in the number of people registering for apprenticeships. We need to value trades and we need to value the work. We had changes last year whereby apprenticeships are now alongside the CAO and CAS offers. Deputy O'Dowd is right. We need to keep increasing the number of young women and men coming into the construction sector and learning trades to deliver the infrastructure that we need. They are good jobs with great prospects for career development.
10. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to review the baseline of self-funding property tax for local authorities like Dublin City and Fingal, in order that they can hold onto 100% of local property tax collected without losing other funds of streaming. [59834/22]
Last week Dublin City Council passed a €1.2 billion budget. It is one of largest budgets it has ever passed. Over recent years the Government has supported many local authorities throughout the country. However, there are challenges with regard to local government funding. We want local authorities to hold onto 100% of the local property tax in their area. When might we review the baseline for funding for local government?
I thank Deputy McAuliffe for his question. I acknowledge that all 31 local authorities have passed their budgets. This is a huge achievement by the sector in very challenging circumstances. We continue to support them in doing this. Local property tax was introduced to provide a stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue and associated expenditure decisions. Local property tax broadens the tax base by reducing the level of central funding required by local government.
As committed to in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, the move to 100% retention of local property tax will take place in 2023. A move to this model will lead to an increased surplus for those authorities with local property tax income above their funding baseline, such as Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. These authorities shall now retain a greater proportion of that surplus for their own use in 2023; an increase from 20% of the overall yield this year to 22.5% next year.
A comprehensive review of the local property tax baselines is under way and is expected to conclude in advance of the local authority budget process for 2024. This review will take into account the overall funding position of all local authorities and the self-funding requirements will be considered in this context. Any proposed change to the current model will need to take into account the needs and resources of all local authorities, including those that have less ability to raise income and will need to be considered within the parameters of the national fiscal and budgetary situation and the competing priorities presenting themselves at a national level.
I welcome the commitment to review the baselines. If I heard correctly this will be done in advance of the 2024 budget process. Local government funding is a bit of a dark art. I spent ten years in local government and I still cannot get my head around a lot of it.
It is about retaining the local property tax in that locality, because if people pay the tax, they expect those services in that area. While some counties may need more funding, that is a matter for national government, not local government. This is a new concept in this country, but we have to make sure we stick to the principle.
Unfortunately, because of baseline funding that sets the level of self-funding, while the property tax gathered will stay in the county, the problem is that grants will be reduced, to the tune of approximately €52 million in Dublin city and by a similar figure in Fingal. We are letting councils keep 100% of the property tax but we are reducing the other grants they have. I welcome the review because it will address that situation.
The review is a very important mechanism to ensure we have equity throughout the network of 31 local authorities. What is key is the way the Government has intervened this year, in very challenging circumstances, to support local authorities via several funding streams, such as the energy support grant, which has assisted them in completing their budget, and the pay model, through which pay agreements will be refunded and for which we have ensured local authorities will get 100% support. This is in addition to the many acute challenges of rates revaluation. In working with the Minister, additional funding has been allocated that will assist them in the coming year. These are challenging circumstances but local authorities are doing incredible work. It is a testament to the network that they all passed their budgets on time, which we value.
I met the team from Dublin City Council last week, along with all Dublin Deputies, and I met with the finance subcommittee. Many good councillors from across parties want to see more done for their county with more resources. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment, and I thank the Minister, both Ministers of State and their party colleagues for working with us on this to deliver this review.
The Minister of State mentioned pay, which is another element to this. Dublin City Council has stated that, in the next two years, the additional pay commitments arising out of wage agreements will amount to €41 million. However, the amount of essential Government funding will be €35.8 million of the €41 million. The answer I got from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform stated this is 100% of funding. We need to find the gap and nail it down. I also look forward to Jim Gavan's report on local government funding. We can do a lot more on this. There are local taxes that Dublin City Council and other councils could administer and there are local decisions. The more power we devolve to local government, the better.
A large proportion, around €287 million, goes towards pay agreements and assisting local authorities in meeting those commitments. The Department is also doing a separate piece of work with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the local authority network to try to get to the bottom of the funding refunds. An estimate in the local authority system of how much pay will be has to be calculated in advance of the refund for the pay agreements, and that has to be reconciled properly. We are committed to supporting local authorities, and the provision of €287 million is a key a factor in demonstrating that. It will ensure they pass their budgets and citizens have the certainty their services will be protected.
I ask the Minister to engage with councillors as part of the review process.
Absolutely.
11. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has made any decision on modular homes for the homeless or social housing other than for asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59852/22]
19. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will elaborate on his interpretation of rapid build technology being used to tackle Ireland's housing shortage. [57518/22]
The issue of rapid building technology in dealing with the housing crisis was raised several years ago and has been raised again recently in the context of how we deal with the pressures on the system as a result of the refugee crisis in the country at present. Many Ministers have said the technology will be part of the plan to house refugees and it will be part of the plan to build homes for people who are homeless or have been on the housing list for a long period. Will the Minister to give specific details on this?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist, which is a very important one. We need to look at how we can utilise modern methods of construction, including off-site construction and modular builds, to ramp up the supply of housing. We clearly set out that objective in pathway 5 under the Government's Housing for All plan. The development of modern methods of construction, MMC, will improve productivity in construction and increase efficiency in residential construction. It will be an important tool we will use.
The further development of MMC is being led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which has established a leadership and integration group, and my Department is represented on this group. The group is ensuring the cohesive integration and co-ordination of the various Departments that support the MMC initiatives. We will establish a multi-location consortium, a construction technology centre led by the University of Galway, a new demonstration park for modern methods of construction at Mount Lucas operated by Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board and the new national construction training centre, also at Mount Lucas.
I visited many companies in Ireland that are developing off-site construction methods, not just modular build. About 48% of all homes built in Ireland are wooden frame homes, which I welcome. This is better for a climate perspective, but we need to do more on the social housing side. Next week, I will table an amendment to the planning and development and foreshore (amendment) Bill that will seek approval to expedite the delivery of social and affordable homes on State-owned land. This will be underpinned by the allocation of €100 million to pay down loans on local authority sites that can deliver social housing projects linked to accelerated delivery. What I am doing for that extra delivery, which we will manage in a central way, is seeking that local authorities will use the off-site construction methods we see are working. Some local authorities have already used these methods very well. I have visited sites in Limerick and in Fingal, my local authority area. We need to accelerate this delivery. There is demand there. These methods are more efficient and effective. I see this as additional supply and we have the funding to underpin it. We have to make sure we are using the best of technology to deliver homes quicker. Next year could be a breakthrough year in that regard. I am happy to keep the Deputy informed of progress.
In relation to refugees and asylum seekers, most people want to be generous and to be the Good Samaritan. The way the Government has handled this, with the lack of consultation with communities, has created division in large number of areas. Consultation is very important, for example, in the building of wind turbines, pylons, hotels and such things. People should have a role in the future of their community, and the lack of consultation has caused difficulty. Many Ministers have spoken about the need for modular homes in the case of refugees and for the delivery of homes for people from Ireland who have been on the housing list for a long time. It is very important we treat people equally. If you say to one group of people that there will be one route towards housing provision that is not available to another group, it will be a threat to the consensus and attitudes in society and create division. Based on the Minister's reply, it is clear to me there is no specific plan for the building of modular homes for people who are homeless in Ireland right now. There are no delivery dates and there is no specific funding for that at present.
I want to make a point about refugees and asylum seekers. In building the modular homes, we have to be right in what we are doing and make them available to all people. We must stand up to xenophobia and racism in our country.
Hear, hear.
I was sickened to see, near North Wall, the term "Irish lives matter". Of course they do. Everybody's life matters, but people have been raped, murdered and slaughtered in Ukraine. People are saying there should be a cap on the number of them coming here. We had a cap on the number of Jewish refugees coming to Ireland during the Second World War. We stopped them from coming into the country. We must make sure such disgraceful, shameful historic events do not happen again. I feel very angry. People should not be able to stop access to the port tunnel willy-nilly. They are entitled to protest but they are not entitled to stop people from going home from work or to put people's lives at risk. More people are walking and cycling in the dark because they are not secure in using public transport.
Let us stand up to them and show we mean business. Let us do it, as Deputy Tóibín says, by consultation and working with people. Let us put an end to the dog-whistle xenophobia I am hearing now.
B'fhéidir nach raibh an Teachta ag éisteacht le mo fhreagra ar an gceist sin. I answered it very clearly. We have set targets. We are using modern methods of construction. I suggest the Deputy be careful not to blur the lines, if I may. The emergency response to provide safe harbour to our friends from Ukraine, as Deputy O'Dowd has eloquently said, is separate to what we are doing on delivery of Housing for All. It is in addition to Housing for All. Some of the accommodation we will provide on a temporary or medium-term basis would not be appropriate for permanent or social housing, such as the refurbishment programme.
This is an emergency. Some 62,000 Ukrainians have come to this country since February or March. We have had 15,000 other citizens who are fleeing war and persecution in other areas of the world. We know in our history as a State what it is like to be persecuted. We know what it is like to have countries turn their back on our people who had to flee persecution in this country. I never wish to see a situation whereby we, as a people, turn our backs on people fleeing persecution and this Government will certainly never do so.
Níl mé críochnaithe fós. Let us be very clear that the targets with regard to additional delivery on modern methods of construction are very clearly set out and we will manage that centrally. This is different. There is a real opportunity to further ramp up the delivery of social and affordable homes, which I know the Deputy is asking for, but that is a separate response under the Housing for All plan. The emergency response with regard to our friends from Ukraine will continue. We will have a consultation but some people hide behind the word, "consultation", which means they are nearly excusing some of the disgusting protests. They are not excusing the protests themselves. Rather, what I am talking about is some of the behaviour around them. People are entitled to have a view. We live in a democracy and a republic but let us remember where we came from. We should be welcoming. In fairness, the vast majority of Deputies are welcoming. I recognise the Deputy opposite is also welcoming.
We support safe harbour. It is a moral and international responsibility when people are fleeing war, violence or famine to stand up and give them shelter when it is needed. Nobody is arguing that point. We are simply saying there must be equality in the delivery of services in this State. The only baseline we are asking for in this situation is one from which everybody who is resident in this State is simply treated equally. I asked the Minister what the targets were. All I am looking for is a figure for how many modular homes will be built to relieve the housing crisis in 2022, 2023 and 2024. How many euro will be spent on delivering that? Targets are not nebulous. They are specific details. I am waiting for those specific details to be delivered here. Cohesion is dependent upon people feeling and understanding they are treated equally. That should be the baseline for any government in a western liberal democracy.
We will deliver more new-build social homes in 2022 than we have done in decades. Approximately 10,500 social homes will be delivered for people who are on the social housing list. Some of the sheltered response we have for our friends from Ukraine are not permanent homes, such as the refurbished properties. I know the Deputy is not suggesting we would use that same response for people on the social housing list-----
Other places have.
No, they have not.
They have.
What I am saying is that we very clearly set out under Housing for All what our social housing targets are. What I am looking to do next year is to further accelerate that delivery through the use of off-site and modular construction. I have already mentioned in my response to the Deputy that we have provided €100 million with regard to pay-down debt for local authorities, not just to pay it down. That is the legacy debt on lands because of land purchase. It is on the basis that one starts the delivery on those sites next year using predominantly modern methods of construction. We will manage that centrally and keep the House, the Deputy and all others who are interested-----
Thus, modular homes will not be used for housing.
Through the Chair.
What part of my answer does the Deputy not understand? I have just said for the past few minutes that, of course, we are using modern methods of construction and modular construction. We are already doing that but we will be using additional good-quality, off-site construction builds under modern methods of construction, next year, in the programme we have set and has been debated in this Dáil and which we have been very public about, to ramp up the further delivery of social housing. It has nothing to do with the emergency response with regard to Ukraine. It is separate to that.
Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.
Let us not blur the lines.
12. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update in respect of the new rural housing guidelines; when it is expected that these guidelines will be put out to public consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59858/22]
75. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the new rural housing guidelines will protect the right of those living in remote areas to build a home near their families and workplaces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59144/22]
I ask the Minister of State whether he will provide an update on the new rural housing guidelines. When it is expected these guidelines will be put out to public consultation and will he make a statement on the matter?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 75 together.
Updated rural housing planning guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department. The updated guidelines will expand on the high level spatial planning policy of the national planning framework, especially on national planning objective 19, which relates to rural housing. The objective makes a clear policy distinction between rural areas under urban influence, that is, areas within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment, on the one hand, and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining, on the other. National planning objective 19 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social need, that is, being an intrinsic part of the community or economic need, that is, persons working full or part-time, may be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.
The proposed draft rural housing guidelines will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for rural housing, based on the high-level policy framework set by the national planning framework. The guidelines will continue to allow county development plans to provide for housing in the countryside based on the considerations detailed in national planning objective 19 of the national planning framework and will highlight the need to manage development in certain areas, such as areas around cities and larger towns and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to avoid overdevelopment.
The guidelines are at an advanced stage of drafting and environmental assessments, that is, appropriate assessments, AA, and strategic environmental assessments, SEA, are ongoing. It is intended to publish the draft guidelines for a period of public consultation when the environmental assessments are completed. It is anticipated that the assessments will be completed this month. Following the period of consultation and with any subsequent changes made, the guidelines will be submitted to me for approval to publish. Once issued, planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála will be required to have regard to the guidelines in carrying out their functions during the development management process.
The process of the consultation and getting in submissions is extremely important because this is a very important issue. County and city development plans have gone through the process and it is important we have these guidelines in place within a very short timeframe. When does the Minister of State expect the Department will be able to issue the guidelines to each of the individual local authorities? Are we talking about a three-month or six-month period? It is important that is clarified.
In the first instance, we just got news yesterday that the ecological assessment unit, EAU, within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has decided a determination is not needed and the guidelines are screened out for an appropriate assessment. They will have to go on public consultation. We have to put them on public display whereby the public and members of the various parliamentary parties and Members of the Oireachtas will have their say with regard to the content of the guidelines. Once that process is finished, we will be able to issue them. We are hopefully talking about a number of weeks as opposed to months to get them published and in situ.
Local authorities, throughout the network of 31 authorities, would be able to conduct a variation of their county development plans to incorporate the new guidelines to ensure they are working for citizens.
As I said in my opening response, An Bord Pleanála will have to have regard to the new guidelines when it is making determinations on applications through the developmental process.
I understand we have to have public consultations and to allow for sufficient time. We are now coming into the Christmas period. If we publish the guidelines in the next two weeks, what kind of period will we allow for the public consultation and for submissions to be made? How long will it take after that for the Department to finalise matters? It is important that the public consultation takes place on how we proceed with the provision of housing in rural areas.
I raise an issue regarding people who have derelict properties in rural areas. I have come across a number of these as I am sure the Minister of State has too. These properties are quite close to existing road infrastructure. The requirement set by local authorities is for the new development to take place in the same location, which is now not in a safe situation. I have found that local authorities insist on the new property be built exactly on the old, derelict site, which is too close to a public road. Will the guidelines cover such issues?
There will be a strong policy in the draft guidelines to bring derelict and older properties back into use. I understand and appreciate the circumstances that Deputy Colm Burke is referring to and the challenges that people have in bringing those properties back into use. There do not need to be any impediments to doing that. As I said, one environmental assessment was completed yesterday and hopefully the second will be completed this month. I expect that public consultation will take a couple of weeks. The unknown aspect is the number of submissions that may emanate from that process. As the Deputy will know from going around the country, there is significant interest in the guidelines because they are critical to underwriting rural areas and ensuring that they are kept vibrant. The Government has a suite of measures relating to vacancy and regeneration to do just that. We will act on them quickly. Once the submissions are in, we will have to respond to them. As I said, we are talking about weeks, not months, in this regard. We will act quickly. The local authority network will be able, by way of variation, to incorporate those submissions into their development plans.
14. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 175 of 27 September 2022, the status of the development of the promised section 28 guidelines for planning in Gaeltacht areas; the timeline for the public consultation; the timeline for the publication of the guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59700/22]
Baineann mo cheist leis na treoracha pleanála do na cheantair Ghaeltachta. Táimid ag fanacht orthu le fada an lá. Ba mhaith liom soiléiriú a fháil maidir le stádas na dtreoracha sin. I seek clarification about the promised section 28 guidelines for planning in Gaeltacht areas. I did not hear the answer to the previous question but I am sure the two overlap. I am looking for clarity about these guidelines, which we were promised a long time ago.
I thank Deputy Connolly for her question. The interdepartmental group, comprising officials from my Department, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Údarás na Gaeltachta, is in place to support and accelerate the ongoing work on planning guidelines in Gaeltacht areas. A key aim of the interdepartmental group is to ensure that procedures and systems will be tailored as appropriate to facilitate an effective and consistent approach by all relevant local authorities to managing planning-related issues in our Gaeltacht areas. The interdepartmental group has been examining how current practices relating to the application of these provisions can be strengthened in the overall interests of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht and of proper planning and sustainable development, underpinned by a policy currently being finalised by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. This policy is critical and central to the development of section 28 guidelines for planning in Gaeltacht areas, which my Department is finalising for review. These guidelines will be subject to screening requirements, with a strategic environmental assessment and screening for appropriate assessment. On that basis, it is anticipated that draft guidelines will be available for public consultation early in 2023.
Guidelines were originally due to be completed by the end of 2021, then in 2022, and now we are coming into 2023. Tuairisc.ie and the Irish-language committee, chaired by Deputy Ó Snodaigh, has covered this. We produced a report and made specific recommendations. It has been raised by every delegation that has come before our committee and when we have travelled the country. I am utterly confused at this stage. We will have section 28 planning guidelines for the Gaeltacht areas and guidelines for rural areas. Are they the same guidelines or all contained in the same grouping? We are waiting for a policy from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media before we get the guidelines. We have a grúpa oibre, a working group, which I welcome, but I am not sure what it is working on. I mean no disrespect to the people on the group. We seem to be in a bubble of some sort.
Words would be helpful in addition to the signs the Minister is currently making. I appreciate that they are positive. Words to explain the confusion would be even more helpful.
To be clear, there is no confusion here. Much work has gone on. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, met Conradh na Gaeilge recently, which is central to this. I have met Gaeltacht communities across the country. In response to that, to underwrite, secure and ensure consistent and sustainable planning in our Gaeltacht areas, these guidelines are specific to Gaeltacht areas. They will be issued under section 28. We have to comply with environmental requirements and assessments, strategic environmental assessments and appropriate assessments. That takes time. We have significant requirements relating to presenting documents for public consultation and ensuring that those environmental assessments have been carried out, because if they are not, there will be a significant risk of challenges in the future. Early next year, we will issue these guidelines, as well as the rural planning guidelines, which I think will provide a strong, sustainable statement to ensure that our Gaeltacht areas flourish and are supported, and that rural planning is done on a consistent and sustainable basis, which is critical.
Given the climate emergency, I have no difficulty with the importance of strategic environmental assessments and so on. That goes without saying but we are not at that point. We do not have planning guidelines. The delay has been on the part of many Governments. We are waiting for the planning guidelines. The people coming before us are not exaggerating. Everyone knows there is a problem with housing in Gaeltacht areas. It has huge significance for the Irish language. Without a sustainable way of living in houses, we cannot protect the Irish language. I do not have time to go into all that. The Minister of State is familiar with it in the first place. I have replies here that would fill a whole shelf in a library, like other colleagues who have followed up on the guidelines for Gaeltacht areas. The Minister of State is telling me they will be published in January. Is there a date for the publication? Is there a timeline for the completion of the consultation, the necessary strategic environmental assessment or the other reports? Having gone through all of that process, when will we have the guidelines?
It is important to correct Deputy Connolly and say that the guidelines physically exist. They have to be screened as part of appropriate assessment before they can be published. That is part of the environmental process.
Is that process ongoing?
Absolutely. We hope to publish the guidelines in January.
In January.
Tá ár gcuid oibre beagnach críochnaithe.
The next session will be questions to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. While we await his arrival, I welcome our guests to the Visitors Gallery. Good morning to everybody. You are all very welcome. There were other visitors during the debate earlier, too. It is great to have so many visitors to the House today. It is an historic day, with the President of the European Commission coming to address the House, which is why the rostrum is here beside me.
