The allocation for almost €700m in additional funding to accelerate housing delivery in Ireland has officially been announced by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD.

Complementing the delivery of 4,600 new social and affordable homes, the funding will reactivate vacant housing stock, help address homelessness at the community level, and continue the vital support for homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks.

The funding allocation includes:

• €184m to boost social housing delivery: €100m will be directed to Approved Housing Bodies under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) scheme to boost their delivery of social housing, with €84m provided to local authorities to support their construction of new build social housing. Currently, almost 25,500 social homes are at various stages of design and construction.

• €114m investment in cost-rental housing: Funding of €100m will be directed to Approved Housing Bodies under the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme and another €14m for private sector cost-rental development under the Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental (STAR) scheme. To date, nearly 4,000 cost rental-homes have been provided.

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• €250m to support the Temporary Development Contribution Waiver Scheme: This measure incentivised increased housing supply while reducing construction costs by waiving of local authority ‘section 48’ development contributions. Nearly 102,000 commencement notices for new homes were submitted across 2023 and 2024, with over 79,000 of those benefiting from the waiver to date.

• €38m for the vacant property refurbishment grant: Revitalises empty and derelict properties by supporting individuals who want to turn them into homes or rental units. So far, almost 2,900 vacant and derelict homes have been brought back into use.

• €50m funding for second-hand acquisitions including tenant in situ scheme: This allows local authorities to purchase privately owned homes where tenants are at risk of eviction, ensuring they can remain in their homes as social housing tenants.

• A further €60m for the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme: To continue to help homeowners remediate properties damaged by defective concrete blocks.

Discussing the allocation, Minister Browne said: "We must respond to the housing crisis in a way that ensures the delivery of results – of homes for people and families to grow up and grow old safely in, in their communities across Ireland. This funding has been allocated in a way which will activate the necessary measures to continue sustained housing delivery.

"In recent years, we've made significant progress in delivering new housing and launching schemes that have provided secure homes for thousands of individuals and families at a scale not seen since the 1970s. The scale of the challenge we have demands continued and intensified effort. This funding allocation is a key part of that ongoing response."