€84 million in funding approved for 1,770 affordable homes in nine counties

25 projects in total will be funded across 13 local authorities in Ireland.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy announced on Tuesday that €84 million in funding has been approved for a little under 1,800 affordable homes in nine counties in Ireland. As part of a commitment made in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, Minister Murphy announced that the funding will support delivery of 1,770 affordable homes available for purchase in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford, Wicklow and Wexford. 25 infrastructure projects across 13 local authority areas will be supported (see details below), marking the second round of approvals and funding under the Serviced Sites Fund, bringing to almost 3,200 affordable homes for purchase under the scheme to date. Serviced Sites Funding trebled to €310 million as part of last year’s budget and it aims to deliver 6,200 affordable homes in total. As recently as last September, when asked about affordability, Murphy said: “When we talk about house prices, we talk about €320,000 generally in the greater Dublin area, Cork and Galway and €250,000 in other parts of the country.” Commenting on the funding, Minister Murphy said: “We’ve seen recently that house prices have been cooling down, even falling in some parts of the country as supply increases. But for too many people home ownership still remains out of reach. “Unless the government steps in to bridge the gap, young couples and workers may not be able to afford to buy their own home in our cities and large towns. That’s why we are using local authority land to build more affordable homes for young workers and couples, and that’s why these approvals announced today are so important. The market will not fix our housing problems alone, the government must lead on providing more affordable homes.” “Together with other complementary and targeted affordability measures under Rebuilding Ireland, the delivery of these affordable homes will have a really positive impact on the availability of affordable housing,” Murphy added. “This is about providing homes for all: creating new and attractive communities to live in, where the demand is greatest, and delivering at affordable prices and rents.” More information on the Serviced Sites Fund is available on rebuildingireland.ie.