94. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an increase in Part V housing stock to be available for affordable housing schemes in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47988/26]

This Government has placed home ownership at the heart of national housing policy and our new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This is why we have set out in that Plan a number of different schemes to support increased levels of home ownership right across the country. As I have said many times, homes are not and should not be the aspiration for the few or the lucky in this Country, and that is why I am determined to make sure that the unprecedented level of State investment provided for in the National Development Plan and explained in the Housing Plan will have a real and lasting impact on ordinary peoples' lives.

The new Housing Plan expands the range of affordable housing measures being implemented by the Government. In particular, a new Starter Homes Programme, which is a central component of the Plan, aims to deliver an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually out to 2030.

On the specific issue raised around Part V housing stock, as you know, Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 requires private developers to ensure that 20% of land zoned for residential and other uses is reserved for social and affordable housing. Local authorities negotiate Part V agreements with developers in line with a range of guidelines and supports aimed at assisting them in maximising the benefits of Part V, in the context of their housing needs. The allocation of the Part V component of any development between social houses and affordable purchase houses is therefore, in the first instance, rightly a matter for each Local Authority to determine.

As we set our focus out to the end of the decade, each Local Authority will soon commence the updating of their Housing Delivery Action Plans (HDAPs), for review by my Department, setting out how the Starter Homes Programme will be implemented within their area, including details of Planned Part V affordable housing delivery. This process will ensure that we plan for and deliver the right mix of affordable and social housing according to identified needs between now and 2030.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) continues to be available to all local authorities, including Cork County Council, to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified. I can assure the Deputy that my Department, along with the Housing Agency and the Housing Delivery Coordination Office of the Local Government Management Agency, will continue to advise and support Cork County Council in respect of its planned response to affordable housing needs in all key urban locations within its administrative area.