Mr. Martin Riordan:

I will be brief in my contribution. I circulated an opening statement, to which there are two parts, that I would like to emphasise. The council welcomes the opportunity to respond to correspondence we received from the committee which indicated that there were concerns regarding the drawdown of funds in the period 2007 to 2013 and I might deal with that first. It is important to understand how capital allocations are provided by the Department and how they are drawn down. In the submission we provided to the committee we indicated some detailed figures to explain the drawdowns, how they are arrived at and how the spend in a particular year reflects the activity in that year.

Performance in addressing the accommodation needs of Travellers is not best measured based on the drawdown of funds but in the effectiveness of the response to the needs on the ground. To measure drawdowns against allocations is to miss the measure of progress. There is a need to respond in a flexible and sensitive way to the developing needs and preferences of members of the Travelling community and that is expressed and managed at a local level through Traveller accommodation plans. It is though those five-year plans that we can best draw conclusions as to whether we are making progress.

In regard to drawdowns against allocations, I emphasise that capital allocations are provided on a yearly basis and may be rolled over because a project did not proceed at a pace or it was no longer needed or the circumstances on the ground had changed. For the period 2007 to 2013, in the case of Cork Council the total figure is €5.8 million, which is a total of allocations rather than the total of what is available to spend. We outlined in the submission that €3.4 million of that figure, which is the vast majority of it, would have been in respect of a previous accommodation plan for 2007 to 2008 and, of that figure of €3.4 million, €2.2 million reflects a rollover of an allocation for a particular project. There has been a rollover in respect of two allocations and the moneys would not have been spent on two occasions. It is important that the members of the committee understand that an allocation cannot simply be added up over five years; if a project does not take place in year one and the allocation is rolled over in year two, it does not mean resources are available in the second year.

We outlined in a particular case that an allocation or application for €2.2 million was sought. The council's housing directorate working with the Travelling community involved in that case found a solution which resulted in standard housing solving the issue and a specific house purchase. In that case what was initially a project with an allocation against it was resolved over time in consultation with the Travelling community resulting in the allocation of a standard house, which was funded from a different source, and a specific house purchase.

Another case example is outlined in the submission which shows that an allocation of €1.4 million was sought over three years and after protracted negotiations with the families concerned, their needs were met through standard housing and a specific house purchase. The total spend in that case was €355,000 odd. The allocation of the actual spend is not representative of whether a solution was found at a cost against the allocation.

In those two cases we are seeking to outline, rather than be judged based on the allocation of the drawdown, whether the assessment on the ground was effective in responding to those particular needs. I hope that, in summary form, outlines the council's position in respect of allocations and spend. I may come back to that issue if the Chairman so requests.

Legislation requires us to plan for and forecast the needs of the Traveller community in consultation with the Traveller community over a five-year period. At the beginning of the current Traveller accommodation plan for 2009 to 2013 we would have forecast a need for 122 families. However, that changed over time. One makes a forecast at a particular point in time but the need changed during the course of the five years. A current assessment of the identified need shows 69 families are in need of accommodation, 64 of whom have stated their preference for standard social housing or a single house purchase. Through the local Traveller accommodation committees we are responding to the need expressed on the ground. Considering that the highest percentage of need is for standard social housing and in view of the fact that the standard social housing allocation to the council has been reduced from €40 million to €2 million to €2.5 million it will be a challenge to match the stated needs of Traveller families for standard housing as against the allocations we expect to receive in the coming years. Anything the Oireachtas or the Department can do to increase the allocation for standard housing would assist in meeting that need.

During the period 2009 to 2013 Cork County Council met the needs of 45 Traveller families through the allocation of 30 standard social houses and four single house purchases. The Traveller accommodation plan which is adopted locally would indicate that we are meeting those needs as expressed by the applicants themselves. It is important to draw the committee's attention to the fact that while there are capital allocations which indicate an apparent underspend, the actual spend, and the revenue budget for the same years for the management and maintenance of Traveller accommodation, is €3 million, approximately €400,000 to €500,000 per annum.

Currently we are progressing our assessment of housing need for 2013 which should provide another picture of the position regarding all our housing applicants, including the specific accommodation needs of Traveller communities. Later this year, in accordance with the law, Cork County Council will adopt, in consultation with the Traveller community, a Traveller accommodation plan for the next five years. The basis on which the council or any local authority should be judged, I submit, is its performance against the accommodation plan adopted locally in consultation with the Traveller community. I hope the submission we have made to the committee outlines the council's performance in this area.