The government has marked the first 12 months of its ambitious ‘Housing for All’ plan, citing the ‘progress made’ in delivering homes in Donegal.
Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, said its aim was that everyone should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price and built to a high standard.
“While there’s a lot of work still to do, we can see already, after the first 12 months that the plan is working in Donegal and across the country,” Minister O’Brien said.
Commenting on the role of local authorities in delivering housing in Donegal, the Minister for Planning and Local Government Peter Burke TD said:
“Donegal County Council is playing a central role in delivering housing in the county. Over the past 12 months the Government has provided resources and funding to the council to help it deliver for people in Donegal. I’ve recently issued guidelines to Donegal County Council on the making of their county development plan to ensure it takes into account projected housing need so that sufficient new homes can be built in key areas of housing demand. We have also streamlined the processes for the procurement of social housing.”
Among the measures and impacts in Donegal arising from Housing for All, the government said, are:
- 566 new homes built in Donegal in the 12 months to end of June 2022
- Commencement Notices for 520 homes were received in Donegal in the 12 months to the end of July 2022
- Planning permissions for 848 homes in Donegal to the end of Q1 2022
- Approval for 12 new posts in Donegal County Council for local authority housing delivery
- Introduction of exemption from planning permission requirements for converting vacant Donegal pubs into homes. The existing exemptions to converting vacant commercial premises into homes in Donegal have been extended. Between 2018 and 2021, 17 residential units have been provided in county Donegal, with 12 notifications of exempted developments received.
- In 2021, the Government provided €37.54m in total funding for housing to Donegal County Council, an 18% increase on 2020.
- In 2021, 146 social homes were delivered.
- There was a 32% reduction in the number of households on the social housing waiting list in Donegal at the end of 2021 compared to the first annual assessment conducted in September 2016.
Other key measures delivered through Housing for All that benefit the people Donegal include:
- A new expanded Local authority Home Loan
- Launch of the First Home Scheme
- Significant funding made available by Government to assist local authority affordable housing delivery, for purchase and rent, through the Affordable Housing Fund
- New legislation on tenancies of unlimited duration
- Homes ring-fenced for individual buyers through planning changes, with 25 homes ring-fenced in County Donegal between May 2021 and mid-May 2022
- Introduction of a Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant (through Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund) to incentivise the refurbishment of vacant homes in Donegal
- Fair Deal Scheme reforms and Town Centre First policy to reduce vacancy
- New National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability
- Reformed planning process for large-scale developments in Donegal and elsewhere – greater certainty, clarity and public participation
- Tax to activate vacant land zoned for housing, commencing in 2024.
- Measures to increase construction sector capacity in Donegal, including greater investment to increase the availability of apprenticeships and training, international recruitment initiatives and the new ‘Future Building’ initiative to spearhead activation and recruitment for the sector
- A number of significant measures to accelerate research and innovation in the sector, including Enterprise Ireland’s new Built to Innovate Fund, a €5m investment for the establishment of a new Construction Technology Centre, and the turning the sod on a new Modern Methods of Construction Demonstration Park.
- A new design manual and streamlined processes for the procurement of social housing for Donegal County Council
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