Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman is saying that a lot. We share the same constituency.

I welcome the Minister and thank him for his comprehensive report. I will be brief. It is clear that the Minister is driving a multi-stranded action approach to housing and providing the appropriate funding in that context, which is to be welcomed. I would like to ask about the funding of local authorities, the matter with which I am most familiar. I know that we are dealing with the figures for 2016, but local authorities are preparing their estimates for 2017. Traditionally, they never seem to receive an indication of what their allocations, or projected allocations, will be to enable them to plan for the future. That is the complaint we constantly receive from chief executives, councillors and the corporate policy group. The Minister has provided details of income for local government. I ask him to take with him the message I am transmitting on behalf of those involved in local government. It is a message rather than a question. Local authority chief executives, managers and heads of finance need to be aware of their allocations in order that they can prepare for the future. They are making preparations, even though very little information is available to them. I would like to leave that message with the Minister.