Clúid Housing responds to the Budget 2023 announcements

Clúíd welcomes over €160m increase for social and affordable housing delivery in budget 2023

Clúid Housing welcomes the commitment from Government to an additional over €160m in funding for social and affordable housing delivery, as revealed today as part of Budget 2023 announcements. Investment in social and affordable housing is key to ensuring that much-needed homes are delivered at the required level, and, crucially, at a cost that households can bear. Within the context of the current cost of living crisis, which featured prominently in today’s announcements, this need has become even more acute. State investment in housing is also vital with respect to maintaining the capacity of the construction sector.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Clúid Housing Policy Manager, Fiona Dunkin said, “The specific allocation of €40m extra in funding for affordable housing schemes is very welcome. For many years, Clúid, alongside others in the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector, called for the introduction of a cost rental model for those households that are ineligible for social housing, and was proud to deliver the first ever cost rental scheme in 2021. Having successfully delivered several schemes in Dublin, Cork and Kildare, we want and need to deliver much more – alongside our AHB partners, we are due to deliver 750 cost rental units in 2023. However, it does appear that the vast majority of this additional funding allocation will go towards other affordable housing initiatives. We believe it to be very important that cost rental, as a new tenure is prioritised into the future, for its long-term success.”

Clúid believes the focus on sustainability measures today was positive, with an overall allocation of €87M for the retrofitting of social housing. However, having provided 41% of all long-term social housing in 2021, it is important that the AHB sector is not forgotten in this regard. The current grant of 50% available to AHBs, offered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), is inadequate, and a targeted funding approach for the sector is required.

The announced introduction of a new Vacant Homes Tax, as well as the further detail provided on the Residential Zoned Land Tax, is welcomed by Clúid – it is possible, if implemented effectively, that both will increase the overall supply of available housing and land in Ireland. We are hopeful that future measures will include the provision of a dedicated fund for the purchase of land by the AHB sector, to allow us to operate more effectively and efficiently.

As a leading AHB with a strategic commitment to delivering over 1,000 new homes before the end of 2022, and a key player in achieving housing targets set out in Housing for All, Clúid looks forward to working alongside local authorities, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the HFA, developers and other key stakeholders in delivering much-needed social and affordable homes across Ireland.