Mr. Michael Layde:

On the issue of the overall demand for social housing and the waiting lists, this is a key concern of the Ministers and their officials.

As mentioned previously, we will be preparing a social housing strategy. We already have a Government policy statement on housing from 2011. This will be elaborated on and it will become a very detailed social housing strategy with measurable outcomes. The aim is to make significant inroads into waiting list and to address housing need. That is a key priority as identified in the construction strategy.

When replying to Deputy Ellis on the quality of rented accommodation, I said that local authorities will be responsible for ensuring that where the accommodation is State-funded it will reach the appropriate standard. Of course, legal requirements also apply in the private rented sector, whether or not the local authorities are involved in direct funding. As I pointed out, the PRTB is responsible for that.

Specific dedicated funding is provided to the local authorities from the registration moneys collected by the PRTB. I would be happy to provide the Deputy with full details of the inspection programme, the amount of money expended in recent years and the number of inspections carried out. We will provide that to the members of the committee.

As I mentioned in my opening statement and as the Deputy rightly points out, it is completely unacceptable that significant numbers of local authority properties should be vacant for a very long time, given the level of demand we face. I mentioned that the additional funding available to us now will allow us to get upwards of 2,000 units back into service in the coming months and the balance next year. It will be absolutely crucial to maintain that position.

I understand that one homeless family has relocated outside Dublin. We will be looking at the potential of offering people the option of relocating, but clearly it must be a voluntary scheme. It is clearly unacceptable that people should be accommodated in hotels and B&Bs, even on a cost-benefit basis, leaving the human aspect to one side for a moment. It does not make sense and we do not want to see it continue.

The focus of the implementation plan on homelessness is housing-led. We are focused on finding long-term housing solutions for people who are homeless or are in danger of becoming homeless. The option of being accommodated in a hotel is not sustainable. This was something that Dublin City Council had to do in the short term to deal with the considerable increase in the number of homeless families presenting.

The Deputy raised the question of community involvement. Any community group can seek to become an approved housing body. The prioritisation issue works on the basis that housing authorities have a statutory responsibility in each area. There are now 31 local authorities. The Department requests the local authorities to prioritise funding based on local need and local analysis. We hope that useful projects do not miss out as a result of prioritisation, but the funding is finite and there must be prioritisation. The Department relies on the housing authorities to advise it in that regard.