
Budget 2019 speech broadcast in Arnotts, Dublin this afternoon
During his Budget 2019 speech, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue promised increasing the planned funding of the affordable housing scheme from €20 million to €89 million, facilitating the delivery of ‘6,000 affordable homes’.
The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has questioned it merits and said that the Government’s failure to introduce an affordable rental scheme “is evidence of a lack of vision and housing policy that is failing to evolve”.
It believes the scheme should be restricted to areas where housing costs are most acute. House prices are above €200,000 in only 11 Local Authority Areas.
The Programme for Government 2016 committed to introducing a “new model of affordable rental housing”.
ICSH chief executive Dr Donal McManus said:
“Budget 2019 affordable housing purchase proposals will provide relief for a percentage of households. However, the real requirement is for affordable rental accommodation.
This Budget could have been a watershed moment for Irish housing policy with the potential to kickstart a fresh approach and new thinking on housing if a significant programme for affordable rental accommodation had been introduced alongside these measures”
Of the Rebuilding Ireland social housing targets for 2019, Dr McManus said:
“Today’s budget announcement for the delivery of almost 10,000 social homes in 2019 is welcome.
However, the targets haven’t been increased.
Our housing association members are ready to deliver on targets. The current social housing construction pipeline for housing associations is at 6,305, representing almost 40% of the national total of 16,351 (Quarter 2 2018).”
Irish Council For Social Housing
€470 million extra allocated to housing (RTÉ)
Earlier: The Money Shot