CEO of the Irish Council for Social Housing Donal McManus says:
“I would describe our initial reaction as one of a ‘cautious welcome’ for today’s announcement.
The expansion of the Land Acquisition Fund to a value of €500m, and the move to put it on a ‘revolving’ footing is particularly welcome and is sure to be a significant help in supporting social and affordable housing delivery up to 2030.
We are pleased to see the pledges around key priority groups. Specialist housing delivery – in particular for older and disabled people – is a key competence in the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector and the ICSH stands ready to work with the Government and all stakeholders to advance the measures in this plan
The AHB sector utilises a range of capital funding schemes, some of which are 40 years old. The income from many older AHB homes falls significantly short of the actual costs of managing and maintaining these homes over their lifetime. We note and welcome the report’s recognition of income-related constraints from these legacy funding schemes and recognition of the need to address these.
However on an initial reading, the plan unveiled today appears low on specifics when it comes to targets and deadlines on delivery, which is a concern. We look forward to engaging more with the Department of Housing on what the details of those may look like especially for the AHB sector in their ongoing planning and financing.
We also note the publication alongside the housing plan of the report from the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Strategic forum, which includes a plan to establish a Sectoral Reform Working Group to immediately commence an intensive phase of comprehensive scoping, investigation, and detailed policy development for the AHB sector.
This is a welcome step and we look forward to engaging with the Department of Housing and this Working Group at the earliest opportunity”.