Councils to offer serviced sites at reduced rates to would-be home builders

Under the scheme, the council can sell either serviced or unserviced sites and the scheme is particularly aimed at "infill" sites.

Councils will be able to offer serviced sites in towns to those wishing to build their own homes at reduced rates.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien received government backing on Tuesday to expand the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund to allow sites which are already serviced by infrastructure be offered up by local authorities to potential homeowners.

Under the scheme, the council can sell either serviced or unserviced sites and the scheme is particularly aimed at "infill" sites. 

It could see potential self-builders save up to €30,000 on site purchase.

Measures approved by Government on Tuesday also provide for the Land Development Agency to extend the Project Tosaigh scheme to activate stalled planning permissions for both cost rental, affordable purchase and social homes. 

In particular, a spokesperson said, the Government will "seek opportunities to convert build-to-rent/private rental sector permissions into social and affordable housing" in order to increase the number of social homes.

Last year 9,183 social homes were provided, but government sources say that there remains an issue with the build-to-rent sector in particular, where at the end of 2021 there were 42,725 uncommenced planning permissions for apartments.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien received government backing on Tuesday to expand the Croí Conaithe Towns Fund to allow sites which are already serviced by infrastructure be offered up by local authorities to potential homeowners.

The LDA will now work with councils and Approved Housing Bodies to determine suitable projects to bring forward for this scheme.

Also at Cabinet, the new body to oversee Ireland's elections was established on an administrative basis, allowing it to take on staff and begin taking on the powers of existing bodies.

Mr O’Brien got approval for the establishment of the Electoral Commission on an administrative basis. The commission is tasked with a range of functions currently carried out by Referendum Commissions, the Clerk of the Dáil, Constituency Commissions and the Local Area Boundary Commissions. 

It will be responsible for overseeing the boundaries of constituencies and the rules around Ireland's elections and online political advertising.

The commission was part of the Electoral Reform Bill which was signed into law in July but Tuesday's memo paves the way for a range of administrative preparations to begin, such as selection of the Commission’s ordinary membership and Chief Executive, the putting in place of transitional staffing arrangements, the securing of premises, the drawing up of governance procedures, and the procurement of ICT infrastructure and software.

A Government spokesperson said it was "vital" that the Commission is fully functional by the 2024 local and European elections.

The Government also agreed the end of the Covid-19 enhanced illness benefit payment.

The Enhanced Illness Benefit Payment was for those who were diagnosed with COVID-19 or who were a probable source of infection, providing an incentive to self-isolate. As of the middle of last month, there have been 644,219 Enhanced Illness Benefit claims at a total cost of €340m.