Darragh O’Brien TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, recently indicated his intention to extend the development contributions waiver and Uisce Éireann connection charges refund scheme. Cabinet has now approved an extension of the development contributions waiver and the water connection charges refund.

In its Housing for All Q1 2024 Update the Government confirmed that Cabinet has approved an extension for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions to the end 2024. It also approved an extension to the refunding of water and wastewater connection charges to the beginning of October 2024.

Commenting on the announcement, Taoiseach, Simon Harris said that:

“Housing for All has delivered well beyond its targets since its launch in 2021. The decision to extend the development levy waiver and Uisce Éireann rebate helps us to build on record levels of commencements seen in Q1 to ensure we continue to provide more and more homes across the country to meet the needs of our citizens.”

Other highlights from the announcement include:

• The allocation of €100 million in additional funding to deliver more than 1,000 student beds at UCD, DCU and Maynooth University. State funding will be provided in return for 30 percent of the newly built beds being made available to students in the National Access Plan priority groupings or categories of students eligible for support via SUSI at a discounted rate of rent for 30 years.
• Additional €40m State funding committed to the First Home Scheme.

The full Housing for All Q1 2024 Progress Report can be found here.

Comment

Extension of the development contribution waiver and the water connection charges refund scheme will be welcomed. As mentioned in the latest Housing for All update, the first quarter of this year saw a 63% increase in commencements of new homes compared to the same period in 2023. It will remain to be seen if an extension of these measures will have an impact on commencements for the remainder of the year.

For more information, contact a member of our Real Estate team.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.