1
Fingal County Council
Opening Statement to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Tuesday, 25
th
October, 2022
Chair and Members of the Committee thank you for the invitation to discuss the
implementation of Housing for All in Fingal.
1. Delivery of Social Housing 2019-2021
Fingal County Council has a good track record in the delivery of social homes across the county
and has met all new-build delivery targets set by DHLGH since 2015.
The table below outlines the delivery across the various forms of social housing delivery
mechanisms for the period 2019-2021.
Homes Delivered
2019
2020
2021
Total
Acquisitions
169
100
63
332
New Build
343
216
288
847
Part V
171
97
137
405
Leasing
97
108
183
388
HAP
1176
797
1131
3104
Overall Total
1956
1318
1802
5076
2. Projected Social Housing Delivery
In accordance with Housing for All, Fingal is committed to increasing social housing delivery
and will work with our delivery partners to ensure that housing is available to the most
vulnerable in society. As part of the Housing for All plan, Fingal County Council has developed
a Housing Action Plan 2022 - 2026 setting out details of social housing over the next 5 years.
It summarises the current and projected housing delivery, which will be delivered to meet the
target set for Fingal by Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The table
below outlines the social housing delivery targets set for Fingal for the period 2022- 2026.
2
Social Housing Targets
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Total
Build
360
690
705
758
773
3286
Leasing
44
160
120
30
354
Totals
404
850
825
788
773
3640
The Council plans to deliver a total of 361 new build social homes in 2022 against a target of
360 and is committed to delivering the target of 690 new builds for 2023 and targets of over
700 new build social homes for the subsequent years.
Fingal County Council is very proactive in the delivery of social housing and over the past three
years Fingal has provided housing solutions for over 5,000 families through a range of delivery
mechanisms including new build, leasing and HAP. Having said that, the last few years have
been very challenging, Covid-19 has hampered the building of new houses and caused
disruption to the construction sector and hindered supply chains. The high construction price
inflation and market uncertainty have also impacted housing delivery. However, Fingal
County Council are committed to delivering good quality social and affordable homes for our
citizens and to achieving the targets set.
Construction on Council land
In order to meet the significant challenges of delivery set out in the Housing for All plan, an
ambitious housing construction programme delivering both social and affordable housing on
its own landbanks. The following tables outline dwellings constructed by Fingal to date and
the projected pipeline to 2026.
3
Social Dwellings Constructed on Council Land 2015 – 2021
536
Projected Pipeline on Council Lands - Mixed Tenure
Units
Under Construction on Site & due for completion in 2022
207
Due on-site year end
129
With Part 8 Planning Permission at Procurement Stage
459
Pre-Planning stage
1138
Total Delivery on FCC lands 2022-2026
1933
3. Part V Delivery
Part V has been a significant source of delivery of social housing in Fingal over the past number
years. A total of 405 new social homes were delivered under Part V in the period 2019 to
2021. A further 116 Part V dwellings are in the pipeline to be delivered in 2022.
There are currently a total of 69 active construction sites across the county with a total of
2,932 units under construction and new Part V social homes will be delivered from these sites.
The future social housing provision of Part V is dependent on delivery by the private
construction sector.
4. Affordable Homes
In advance of the introduction of the Affordable Act 2021 and regulations, Fingal devised a
pilot affordable scheme at Dun Emer delivering 39 affordable and 12 social homes. These
homes are scheduled to be delivered by year end. The next development will be on site in
Hayestown in the coming weeks delivering 52 affordable and 10 social homes.
The first phase of delivery on our major landbank at Church Fields, Dublin 15 is currently at
procurement stage. This phase will deliver 180 affordable purchase and 80 cost rental homes.
4
There are 4 cost rental schemes approved under the CREL scheme being delivered by our AHB
partners. These schemes are scheduled to deliver 14 cost rental homes this year and 170 in
2023.
Working collaboratively with our partners the LDA and AHB’s, it is expected that over 3,000
affordable homes will be delivered in Fingal over the period 2022 – 2026. The following table
outlines this projected delivery.
Delivered By/Affordable Tenure Type
Projected Delivery 2022 – 2026
FCC Affordable Purchase
653
FCC Cost Rental
340
LDA Affordable Purchase
547
LDA Cost Rental
439
AHB Cost Rental
1100*
Total
3079
*Dependent on delivery by private construction sector
5. Older Persons Accommodation
The delivery of accommodation for older persons is a priority for the Council. A scheme of 30
apartments specifically designed for older people was delivered last year in partnership with
Fold Housing. A further 31 homes will be under construction by Tuath Housing on Council
owned land in Lusk this year.
The Council is currently drafting a pilot rightsizing scheme which will accommodate both
social and private homeowners.
6. Projections on Vacant Homes
The preliminary Census 2022 data indicates that Fingal has the 2
nd
lowest vacancy rate in the
Country at 4.28%. It is likely that many of these properties will not be vacant when the data
is further analysed. Since 2019 a total of 70 privately-owned properties have been brought
back into occupancy as follows:
Repair to Lease 28
Buy and Renew 16
CPO 7
5
Private market 19
The Council also recognises the potential of the Croí Cónaithe scheme, particularly the
refurbishment grant scheme (max grant €50k) to bring vacant\derelict properties into use.
The Council has a full-time Vacant Homes Officer (VHO) in place since April 2022 and the VHO
and team are dealing with 85 vacant or potentially vacant private dwellings that are at various
states of investigation, engagement or action. Some of the properties are in a process of
going through probate or conveyancing or may be subject to repair or form part of a planning
application. The Council is actively tracking the progress with these properties and expects
they will return to occupancy as the various processes reach conclusion.
The Council’s VHO will also be participating in a pilot project with the DHLGH and 5 other local
authorities around data on potential vacant properties which we hope will assist identifying
further vacant properties in the county.
7. Dereliction Criteria and Decisions
Fingal County Council assesses dereliction in accordance with the definition and criteria set
out under the Derelict Sites Act 1990.
There are currently 6 sites (17 properties) on the Derelict Sites Register. The Council
continues to pursue dereliction by way of engagement with owners\occupiers, issue of
statutory notices and placement of sites on the register and as a result has engagement with
the owners of all these sites. The Council hopes to be in a position to remove three of the six
sites from the register in the near future. The use of the register will continue as a means to
engage owners and occupiers to deal with matters around dereliction and return properties
to use.
Conclusion
Fingal County Council continues to build on its good track record of delivering both social and
affordable housing for our citizens. As outlined above, there is a significant pipeline already
in place and together with our delivery partners we are committed to achieving the target of
delivering 6,532 social and affordable homes as set out in our Housing Action Plan by 2026.
