Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We sent the second letter over two weeks ago. In respect of the Deputy's point about the 2,224 houses referred to under schedule 2, the Housing Agency did not give a breakdown by local authority of those that were considered unsuitable by reference to location and sustainability. We will write back to the agency requesting that list. In addition, when we get that list we will write to the Department for a breakdown by local authority as to the reasons. In my local authority I have gone through the units that were not accepted and there were various issues. The issue could have been financial, for example, the price, or it may have been that it would have taken too long or there was an over-concentration in an area where there was already social housing. There may have been an offer of 50 houses in a local authority area where there was demand for only five houses. Those are the types of issues. We will get the list by local authority from the Housing Agency. We will ask it to send the list to the Department simultaneously and we want the Department to give us a breakdown. If it is a case of a local authority refusing 47 houses, we want to know where each of them was - there would probably be four or five different locations - and why each offer was rejected. That information is readily available in every local authority and should be readily available in the Department. I have seen it in my local authority and we will get it.