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LAST UPDATE | 2 Sep 2021
THE GOVERNMENT’S PLAN to tackle the housing crisis will aim to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030 under a €4 billion per-year strategy.
The Housing for All plan will be published today and will commit to a €4 billion annual investment in housing and set annual targets across social, affordable and cost rental housing.
The government is aiming to deliver 300,000 homes made up of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable homes, 18,000 cost rental homes – with 156,000 homes being private sector builds by the end of 2030.
Single people who have difficulty buying their first home are to be targeted under reforms earmarked for the government’s mortgage scheme, currently known as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL).
The measure will be part of the the government’s plan, which will be approved by a special Cabinet meeting being held later this morning.
The much-talked-about new housing plan was due to be published in July this year but was pushed back to the autumn amid coalition wrangling over costs.
The plan will replace the government’s ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ scheme which former housing ministers Simon Coveney and Eoghan Murphy helmed in the years since its launch in 2016.
One of the measures in the plan relates to reforms of the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) scheme, which is a mortgage for first-time buyers which you can avail of through your local authority.
The buyers can use the loan to purchase a new or second-hand property, or use it for a self-build.
It can offer up to 90% of the market value of the property – making it an appealing option for those looking to get a loan who may not be able to meet the criteria for a mortgage with the banks.
One change which will be announced in the government’s new plan is that the current RHL scheme will be reformed.
Currently the maximum amount a single person can earn to be eligible for the scheme is €50,000.
Under the new changes that will be increased to €65,000 in Dublin, the Greater Dublin Area, Cork, and Galway – bringing in a whole new eligible cohort.
The maximum amount for joint applications remains at €75,000.
Over the past three years the scheme has had over 2,200 mortgage drawdowns.
The scheme has had issues in the past – such as needing significantly more funding than originally planned. But even a couple of months into the pandemic then-Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy was urging local councils to show “flexibility” to people applying for the RIHL.
Under the housing plan an average of 10,000 social homes are to be made available per year over the course of the plan. Of these, 9,500 are to be new builds.
In an interview with The Journal in May, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said he would not forget about single people in the government’s new housing plan.
He promised a number of measures would be brought forward, including the Affordable Housing Bill as well as the new Shared Equity Scheme.
The equity scheme involves the government taking a 20% stake in the house. The minister said this scheme will not exclude single people.
At the time of the interview, the minister noted that about 40% of people on the social housing list are single, saying there is a massive need for one-bedroom apartments.
There’s a massive need for that if you look at those who are homeless as well. A sizeable portion of them are single people looking for one-bedroom apartments and we’ve really got to focus on it.
The Housing for All plan is a multi-annual plan spanning to 2030, and includes measures to increase the number of social and affordable homes around the country.
The Government aims to provide 33,000 social, affordable, cost rental and private homes, on average, each year up to and including 2030.
A vacant property tax will also be on the way as part of the government’s new housing plan.
O’Brien has previously confirmed that he wants to target investment funds that have large swathes of apartments lying empty.
A vacant property tax was under consideration back in May when the government scrambled to roll out measures to clip the wings investment funds buying up hundreds of properties and locking regular buyers out.
However, it was decided at the time that any moves on a vacant property or site tax should be part of the government’s new housing plan instead.
Both within and outside government, the prospect of a vacant property tax is largely supported.
Help-to-Buy
Speaking in Arklow earlier this week, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the plan will deliver tens of thousands of homes.
The plan is set to giving sweeping new powers to the Land Development Agency (LDA) in a bid to reach the government’s targets. Local authorities are also set to be given additional funding and powers to build new homes.
The LDA is tasked with co-ordinating development of public land for affordable housing in Ireland.
It has been proposed as a fix to Ireland’s housing supply crisis by overseeing the use of State lands for the construction of 150,000 homes over the next 20 years.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme – which helps first-time buyers to purchase a new-build house or apartment costing €500,000 or less – will be extended under the new plan, though such measures may not be announced until Budget Day in October.
Currently, buyers can claim tax relief on deposits of up to €30,000, with the scheme due to end in December 2021. However, O’Brien has indicated he is in favour of it rolling over into 2022.
The plan is also set to target derelict properties in regional towns and villages. In his interview with The Journal earlier this year, the minister said the government needs to “be a little bit radical about what we do with that space”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the Housing For All strategy will outline “a step change in terms of the construction of housing, social, affordable, right across the board”.
Under the plan, it is expected that annual housing targets will be set for each local authority. Each council is due to come back to the Department of Housing by November with plans for how it will deliver units in its area.
It also expected the plan will contain a ‘whole of Dublin’ approach to delivering housing across the region.
This will involve a centralised team in the Department overseeing delivery across the four local authorities of the county instead of having each council working in isolation.
There will also be additional staffing measures for local authorities contained within the plan being announced later today.
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Most major factories have been allowed keep up with hundreds of staff on site at times since covid kicked in under the banner of being “essential” apparently some believed once u put essential over these large businesses it gave them immunity from covid more than small businesses who were forced to close with little choice……go figure
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: Bang on. Was always gonna happen with outbreaks. Amazing how certain business deemed non essential a year ago are now miraculous deeming themselves essential knowing full well nowt can or will be done about it.
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: And rightly so. It helps to improve reputation of Ireland and protect jobs.
@Rob Jones: If that’s the case open every business back up. Let’s protect all jobs including those stopped since March last year.
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: It is only small businesses & their staff that spread covid. Large businesses have stayed open through out the pandemic. What does this tell us about the government & opposition. They do not care about the ordinary people in Ireland. When are we going to cop ourselves on.
@Gere: plenty of small manufacturing businesses open to support larger ones, Pharma & medical especially
@talksense: and the reason those small businesses are open is cos of that reason they are supporting the big pharmaceutical or multinationals….who do ya think pulled those strings to deem them essential. Its an utterly pathetic joke how some bang on here everyday about holding form, and we are all in this together nonsense, while massive corporations and businesses have literally written their own covid rules from day one with government support and a blind eye turned by so many including the great NPHET
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: so you think it would have been a good idea to shut pharma plants? Sure who needs that kinda stuff in a pandemic?
@Pseud O’Nym: my point is the whole narrative at the start that we were all in this together was a total bluff and spoofing by those in charge and their supporters. These companies not to mention the big electrical giants and others have been allowed write their own covid rules under a banner of essential and nobody has batted an eyelid. Yet some lady tries opening her business a few months back and 6 squad cars are there to shut it down…..
The only thing consistent about COVID-19 is that the majority (between 70 and 90%) of cases are spread at the workplace. And the private market doesn’t really care in many cases, they will force people into the office. And then hospitality and air travel takes the blame for all of it. Cosy little arrangement.
@Tomo: How can hospitality be taking the blame for Covid when it is closed?
@Justin Gillespie: ask that donkey nuts George Lee, he was waffling on rte a few weeks ago how pubs and restaurants were still responsible for covid cases even though they were closed. Meanwhile meat and big multinational plants and factory’s are protected like sacred cow’s by those in power and ignored by their supporters as a reason we have cases. But hey its easier to hurt and Bury small business and hospitality, retail etc…than dare upset the big boys and FDI’s and actually make them close for a bit to see if that could drive down cases
@Tomo: Many cases are being spread through schools but it goes against the agenda to get kids back to school. Kids get it, pass it around the class, they’re asymptomatic, then bring it back home. The parents get symptoms, get tested and it goes down as household/community transmission…… As for workplace transmission its bound to happen but people need to take personal responsibility. It only has a minute chance to spread with proper mask wearing, proper hygiene and social distancing. Ive worked in the office throughout and there has been no spread internally because everyone is diligent…….. I agree that hospitality and air travel has been unfairly disrupted. Its peoples disregard for the guidelines that is spreading it/keeping cases high
It’s not Intel Staff that are infected….it is the contractors construction workers back on the building site less than a fortnight. Curious to know if it spread after many of them returned from Eastern Europe and didn’t self isolate. As according to construction representatives a few weeks back on Claire Byrne, a huge percentage of them were working while the industry here was in lockdown.
@Jennifer Rabe: site open through lockdown with no outbreaks previously
@Jennifer Rabe: you’re talking through your h0le there Jenifer. Sure the construction site at Intel never shut down as they had a derogation to keep working throughput the lockdown. Not sure how you think they are only back on site 2 weeks.
If I didnt know any better I’d think you’re a bit of a raci5t seeing as ye called out certain communities in your post.
@Eoin Scanlon: That’s a, very valid point Eoin
@Jennifer Rabe: it never closed..money talks
@Ian Synnott: I never made any assumptions of nationality or ethnicity, I only commented on a region that construction representative stated,on national radio, was where construction works from the Irish labour force were working during the lockdown we were in a few weeks back.
@Jennifer Rabe: you could join the construction force yourself Jenifer. You seem well capable of digging a big hole all by yourself. Leave the Eastern European’s alone and stop being a raci5t ;-)
@Eoin Scanlon: really , u must know noone who works there lol
@Jennifer Rabe: you did, you singled out Eastern Europe hahahahaha
@Jennifer Rabe: Jennifer, you’re embarrassing me. Please refrain from that in future. Ta, fellow Jennifer.
@Ian Synnott: comment of the evening goes to you Ian !! Couldn’t have said it better! Wind your neck in Jennifer and just because you heard the tripe that RTÉ are spouting on the radio does not make it true! Ian is out new fact checker !!!
@LadyBMW: *our
I suppose they will all be hotel quarantined now? You know, to stop the spread of infections, etc. It’s risk-assessment, right?
Long as breaks. Table pool.
xbox, and netflix. No clocking in.Doctor on the site
Great dental( 2 implants) five guys drink fountain for free. Sleeping pods.dominos every 3 months and massive bonus every quarter. “Workin from home” for those that catch my drift. Great memories. Still MSD pays more.
@transik: Its the construction site mate, Not the intel employee’s themselves.
@transik: cool story
@JillyBean: The construction guys shared the canteens, toilets, when i was there.
@Trevor Donoghue: No! They let the dirty builders inside? Made the rest of ye share with them? No wonder you left. The very idea.
I drove past it last week and loads of people working on the site were waiting at a bus stop and some were wearing masks and others not. They were all standing quite close together. So hardly surprising if it spread around so much.
@Audrey: Regular occurrence there
“Covid Inside”
What About THOMAS REID living next to the intel plant wouldn’t he want to be protected ?
What about THOMAS REID Living next to the Intel plant ???
He needs to be protected !
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