1654. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered reforms to the cost rental equity loan scheme such as cross subsidisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55949/26]

1658. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the review of affordable housing schemes; his plans to consolidate AHF, STAR and CREL; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55953/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1654 and 1658 together.

Under the Government's housing action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, Cost Rental is a key element of the strategy to improve affordability in the rental sector and to provide secure, long-term homes for moderate-income households. The core principle of Cost Rental is that the rents cover the development, management, and maintenance costs of the homes, so that the long-term future of the homes is financially secure, but that rents are not subject to market pressures. Cost Rental is a growing housing tenure in Ireland, with almost 6,000 homes delivered by the end of 2025 and a substantial future pipeline in place.

Since the introduction of the tenure in 2021, approximately €2.25 billion in Departmental funding has been approved for Cost Rental projects. In addition, significant loan financing is being made available through the State’s Housing Finance Agency. The reduction of VAT on new apartments to 9% under Budget 2026 is also playing an important role in reducing costs. All these supports lower the net cost of delivery, enabling more Cost Rental homes to be delivered and ensuring that rents are more affordable for tenants and considerably lower than comparable homes in the private market.

On the concept of cross-subsidisation, it is already the case that new Cost Rental developments are costed and funded at the overall project level, with some flexibility to adjust the rents for different unit types within a development in order to achieve appropriate outcomes. However, it is a principle that each Cost Rental development must stand on its own financially and meet its own costs. To require ongoing subsidisation from the rental income of another development could introduce systemic risk into the Cost Rental housing sector.

Action 7.4 in Delivering Homes, Building Communities commits my Department to work on 'streamlining' the capital funding programmes for Cost Rental, each of which was established to serve a particular type of provider: one for Local Authorities, another for Approved Housing Bodies, and another for the LDA and private developers. The work of reviewing the funding landscape is ongoing, but there has not been a pre-commitment to consolidate different funding programmes with different characteristics - the outcome of the work will depend on the evidence and the policy priorities.