The Housing Agency has today welcomed the announcement of significant investment in housing in Ireland, as set out in Budget 2022.
The €4 billion allocated today shows the Government’s commitment to the ambitious targets outlined in Housing for All and will go towards supporting the housing needs of almost 31,000 additional households in 2022. A total of 11,820 new social homes will be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing programmes – 9,000 of these will be new builds, to be delivered as part of a €2.6 billion capital funding programme.
Welcoming today’s announcement, The Housing Agency CEO Bob Jordan said:
“Budget 2022 represents the first step in delivering on the Government’s housing objectives, as set out in Housing for All.
“The Housing Agency’s vision is to promote sustainable homes and communities. Through making long-term investments in affordable high-quality homes for purchase or rent, this Budget represents a commitment to that vision.
“It is critical that we increase our housing supply to at least 33,000 homes per annum. The Housing Agency will play a key role in increasing supply, with methods to address vacant homes to the fore. We will manage the Croí Cónaithe Fund, which will support affordable apartments in urban areas. With €50 million being provided to establish the Fund in 2022, it will deliver medium to high density housing at a lower cost, for apartment living in blocks of four storeys or more. The Agency will also establish a central advisory service to assist Local Authorities with a compulsory purchase order programme for purchase of vacant buildings for the provision of social and affordable homes.
“The Housing Agency will continue to advise and support Government on housing affordability and welcomes the allocation of €175 million to deliver 4,130 homes for affordable purchase or rental in 2022. We look forward to continuing our management and administration of the Cost Rental Scheme, providing affordable and secure homes to rent through approved housing bodies. The continuation of the Help to Buy scheme, as well as new affordable purchase initiatives such as the First Home Scheme coming on board, will have a significant impact in making homes more affordable."
Mr Jordan added: “Sustainable communities are ones that support the complete life-cycle – meeting our needs as we grow, and having the facilities and supports in place to assist us if and when we need them. We hope that the measures outlined in Budget 2022 will lead to more people living in sustainable cities, towns and villages across Ireland.”
