2,516 Housing commencement notices reported in the past 5 years hugely encouraging
589 Housing Units commenced construction in 2021
Waterford Fine Gael Senator and party Spokesman on Housing, Local Government and Heritage John Cummins has described the latest data published by the Department of Housing regarding commencement notices for 2021 as “hugely encouraging”.
Overall, in 2021, Commencement Notices for 30,724 new homes were received nationally, a 42% increase on 2020 (21,686 homes). The 2021 total is almost the same as the combined totals for 2016 and 2017 (30,816). In Waterford 589 housing units commenced construction in 2021, a 31% increase on 2020.
Senator Cummins said “these figures are hugely encouraging. Everyone knows that supply is crucial in tackling the challenges we face in terms of availability and affordability. It is very positive to see these strong commencement figures which give a robust indication of the pipeline for completions in the next 12-24 months”.
“When one combines the commencement figures with the numbers of planning permissions which have been received in the past 12 months, I am optimistic that the supply and availability of homes will continue to increase in the time ahead. Based on Construction Information Service (CIS) data which tracks construction projects from pre-planning right through to completion stage, planning permissions were granted for 826 housing units in Waterford during the period January 2021 to January 2022”.
It is expected that the governments ‘First Home Shared Equity Scheme’, which has been approved by the central bank will be launched in quarter 2 of this year. The scheme will assist persons who cannot raise a sufficient mortgage to purchase a new property by taking an equity stake of up to 20% in the home.
Senator Cummins concluded by saying “regretfully all opposition parties are against the introduction of the ‘First Home Shared Equity Scheme’ and the ‘Help to Buy Scheme’. These schemes will provide a pivotal support to individuals and couples in purchasing and owning their own homes. In addition, a number of proposals are currently under consideration within the Department of Housing to develop Local Authority Affordable Purchase homes which will also be based on an equity model and I am working as hard as I can to get as many units as possible approved”.