2026-06-25

86. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will increase funding for the local authorities financial contribution scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47945/26]

99. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps being taken to support the development of age-friendly housing within existing communities, allowing older people to remain close to family and services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47608/26]

I raise with the Minister the financial contribution scheme whereby local authorities acquire houses from over-60s at market value. In return, one third of the net proceeds of sale are given to the local authority and the senior citizens get a local authority unit and pay a differential rate on same. There are significant benefits for the economy and the overall housing situation. Those getting older who have empty nests get to offload significant responsibility and the cost of maintaining a house that has outgrown their needs. They usually move into a local authority senior citizens' unit which has the benefit of a liaison officer. Are there any plans to expand the scheme and put it on a statutory basis?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 99 together. I thank the Deputy for bringing up this important issue. I do not know if Deputy Boland is here. The Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports by the end of 2030. To achieve this, the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State has been secured in 2026, with in excess of €9 billion in capital funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency. Delivering Homes, Building Communities includes measures which will increase delivery of housing for older people through increased delivery of social housing, increased delivery of more suitable homes, choice in private housing and increased choice to support voluntary rightsizing. Government is committed to increasing housing available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence, and to supporting rightsizing on a voluntary basis. Delivering Homes, Building Communities also includes a commitment to develop an action plan on delivering housing for older people and this plan is currently under preparation. A number of local authorities are operating financial contribution schemes. However, these are non-statutory and there is no national scheme in place. In line with a commitment in the Delivering Homes, Building Communities, my Department is undertaking a review of the operation of existing local authority financial contribution schemes. Policy responses will be developed on foot of the findings of this review, which is currently under way. The work under way at the moment is with the Housing Agency to advance a review of the financial contribution schemes operated by some local authorities. As part of the Delivering Homes, Building Communities plan, which follows on from a commitment in the programme for Government, we have a specific action, that is, to review the operation of existing local authority financial contribution schemes. To advance that work, we have commissioned a body of work from the Housing Agency, which will specifically look at it. It will engage with the local authorities and come back to the Department with a report on this issue of financial contribution schemes. Delivering Homes, Building Communities will also increase choice for older people who voluntarily right-size by advancing the availability of bridging finance to support right-sizing. As I already mentioned, this includes a review of the operation of existing local authority financial contribution schemes and supporting social housing tenants who wish to voluntarily right-size to more suitable accommodation. The Department is already progressing these actions to support older people who choose to voluntarily right-size, ensuring choice for older people seeking to move to more suitable accommodation or to right-size in place. As part of the work being progressed, I am pleased to welcome the recent positive announcement by the Central Bank that it is amending the mortgage measures to exempt certain types of bridging loans from the loan-to-income limit that applies to lending for principal home purchases. This will assist in supporting voluntary right-sizing where older people choose to purchase a new home prior to concluding the sale of their existing home. I specifically met the Central Bank on a number of occasions with Department officials to ask it to look at this issue. It came back with this and I hope it will assist. In simple terms, if older people wish to move to a smaller, more suitable home of their choice and it becomes available prior to their home being sold, they will be able to apply to the banks for bridging finance and the issue of the loan to income ratio will not be a factor. It will be based on the asset and they will get the loan for up to 18 months, to allow them to move, if they wish to do so, on a voluntary basis. From 2020 to 2025, the Department has provided almost €180 million of capital assistance scheme, CAS, funding for older people's housing, delivering a total of 592 units for older people, providing purpose designed, age-friendly homes. I look forward to Deputy Brabazon's response.

The scheme, as the Minister of State said, is non-statutory and it operates erratically. It is subject to funding being available in local authorities. Sometimes it is available and sometimes it is not and it is difficult as a public representative to be able to advise constituents who are in the over-60 age bracket on this, when the availability of the funding is intermittent and in some cases non-existent. We are in a housing emergency. We should be putting the scheme on a statutory basis and resourcing it so it is available throughout the year. This would have the effect of providing an increased supply of available housing to the market, which is the stated aim of the Government and the Minister of State's Department. Along with the local authority and AHB supply of senior citizens' accommodation with planning for retirement villages, this could free up significant numbers of houses for private and social housing. This would help young couples to acquire freed-up housing. Therefore, I urge that whatever measures are being taken be expedited.

I thank the Deputy for his considered response. It is a matter he has raised and is committed to. The measure is in the programme for Government. It is a specific action under delivering housing for older people. I committed to doing work on that even prior to the action plan being finalised. A review is currently under way by the Housing Agency on behalf of the Department of the financial contribution schemes operated by local authorities. It will interact with local authorities and, once the review has been completed, the policy response will be developed in response to the findings identified in the research. I want to do it on a structured basis. I note the points the Deputy raised. It is a priority in the older persons section of Delivering Homes, Building Communities to look at the issue the Deputy raised.

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome what he said but I ask him and his officials to light a fire under it and get it moving as quickly as possible so the new policy framework can be delivered as quickly as possible.

Once again, I thank the Deputy for his contribution. A body of work is under way, as I stated, following on from defined actions under housing for older people section of Delivering Homes, Building Communities. We have committed to a review of the operation of the existing local authority financial contribution schemes and to have it as a real, evidence-based, substantive body of work. We commissioned the Housing Agency to look at it in great depth. As the Deputy said, some local authorities have been operating such a scheme, some have not and we want to look at it in the round. When we receive that research from the Housing Agency, we will consider it in depth in the Department. There is a reason it is in the new housing plan. It is because we want to look at it.