An additional €450 million to fund the delivery of about 3,000 affordable and social homes is an “important statement of intent” showing housing is the Government’s “number one priority”, Minister for Housing James Browne has said.
His assertion follows a Cabinet sub-committee on housing meeting, where a range of measures were discussed, including a new Strategic Housing Activation Office to unblock infrastructure delays and the implementation of the Planning and Development Bill.
Senior ministers did not, however, discuss the possibility of tax incentives for private property investors despite widespread expectation it would be considered.
The meeting came after Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe made a pointed intervention pushing back against the mooted reintroduction of tax breaks similar to those seen during the Celtic Tiger.
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Speaking to reporters in advance of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Browne, of Fianna Fáil, denied the tax incentive proposal was dead, saying: “There’s nothing off the table.”
[ Fianna Fáil interventions on housing prompt puzzlement in Fine GaelOpens in new window ]
He said the additional €450 million is being put in place to deliver 2,226 affordable houses and 736 social houses. The funding will be released to schemes where the homes can be delivered most quickly, he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin separately said the funding is “a manifestation of ongoing efforts to ramp up supply”.
Responding to news of the funding for 3,000 homes, Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin called on Mr Browne to confirm whether or not these houses “are additional to the targets already set or are contained within them”.
A Department of Housing statement said the “the social and affordable homes which will be approved as a result of confirmation of this additional funding announcement have not previously received a final funding approval from the Department.”
It added: “The approvals issued following this agreement will result in the full €450m being expended in 2025, as well as additional funding commitments for 2026.
“The associated units will be delivered across 2025, 2026 and 2027.”
In the Dáil on Tuesday, Mr Martin insisted that he never said he would end rent pressure zones (RPZs) as he accused Labour leader Ivana Bacik of “deliberate distortion” of his remarks.
He insisted, however, there had to be “incentives” to encourage increased private sector investment, because to deny that “is flying in the face of reality”.
He agreed that “the Irish banks should do more and I do think the cost of financing house building is an issue”, following a Social Democrats proposal to use some of the €160 billion on deposit in Irish banks to fund house building.
There were heated exchanges between Mr Martin and Ms Bacik after she claimed the Government’s two ideas for housing were to end RPZs and to return to the “Celtic Tiger era” of tax breaks for developers.
Accusing the Government of engaging in “policy on the hoof” she asked why Fianna Fáil did not seek a mandate for their proposals in the general election. She said “there is now a clear split in Government ranks”.
Mr Martin said “the Opposition has a habit of making assertions that are not grounded in any facts” as he challenged to her find any statement where he said he would end RPZs. He said the Housing Commission was reviewing the measure because it was due to end at the end of the year.
Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan said Fine Gael “are baulking at the suggestion that enriching developers and funds even further is a solution to the housing disaster”.
