Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
New housing measures boosting construction in Roscommon
· Development Levies Waiver extended end 2024
· Uisce Éireann rebate extended to end Sept 2024
· €40 million further investment to First Home Scheme
Waiving development levies until the end of 2024 and water levies until the end of September, along with an €40 million extension to the First Home Scheme, are critical steps to ensure more homes are built and made more affordable in County Roscommon, a Fine Gael Senator has said.
Senator Aisling Dolan said:
'To ensure the construction of more homes and to make these homes more affordable to people in County Roscommon, the waiver on development levies has been extended until the end of 2024. I’ve had many queries from people building a new home so the extension of the waiver is a crucial factor in moving projects forward and will be very welcome.
“In addition to this, the Uisce Éireann rebate has been extended until the end of September. These strategic decisions will lessen the financial burden on developers, encouraging them to undertake more projects right here in Roscommon. It’s crucial that we take measures like these to help increase the housing supply in our community.
“There is also high interest in the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, which has already approved 4,376 applications across the country. People are eager to bring vacant empty houses across the county back to life. I am calling for staged payments of the Vacant Property grant to ease the financial burden of upfront payments to contractors and increased support for Local Authorities to accelerate the processing and inspections of properties in order to drawdown approved funds.
“The Development Levy waiver covers the full cost of the development contribution levy due from the developer of a housing development or a one-off house, under the development contribution scheme operated by the Roscommon County Council. The scheme applies to all permitted residential developments, including multi-unit developments, self-build houses, one-off rural houses, student accommodation and sheltered housing.
“Under this waiver programme, developers in Roscommon are relieved from directly paying the required development contributions to the Council. Instead, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage assumes responsibility for these payments, settling the due charges with the local authority on behalf of those responsible for the contribution.
“An additional €100 million funding following the National Development Plan (NDP) windfall review will facilitate the construction of over 1,000 new student beds at universities such as UCD, DCU, and Maynooth University. I’m delighted to see 674 more student beds at Dunlin Village at the University of Galway and we need to see more for Atlantic Technological University and TÚS in Athlone. These projects collectively accelerate our progress towards creating more accessible and affordable housing opportunities for students across the country.
'Further to this, the First Home Scheme will be extended by an additional €80 million, a move that will greatly benefit first-time homebuyers in County Roscommon. This is a shared equity scheme between the government and lenders to help bridge the gap between deposit and mortgage and the price of a new home. This is a clear indication of Fine Gael’s dedication for new homes for families and young people and I look forward to even more new homes coming on stream this year, offering more options and opportunities for people here to own their own home”
