Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Andrews for giving me an opportunity to outline the significant funding and progress on refurbishment of vacant Dublin City Council flats in Dublin South-East and elsewhere. My colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and local services, Deputy Michael Finneran, supports an ambitious social housing programme with new and ongoing projects under way throughout the country. It is a matter for Dublin City Council to determine the content of their programmes including any plans for social housing refurbishment in Dublin South-East, taking into account existing commitments, priority projects and any related co-funding and timescale considerations subject to compliance with any necessary departmental sanction, terms and conditions.

Some €179.085 million was allocated to the city council for its social housing programme in 2010, including €94.340 million for housing supply and €75.745 million for housing improvement. The housing improvement allocation included €62.295 million for regeneration, €2.7 million for remedial works, €7 million for retrofitting voids and energy upgrades, €2 million for compliance with new rental standards and €1.75 million for improvement works, such as extensions and conversions to meet special needs.

The Minister of State with responsibility for housing and local services is also committed to a multi-annual regeneration programme in Dublin city to help to improve the lives and conditions of the communities involved. Over the past decade, the Government has invested more than €100 million in the Dublin City Council inner city flats regeneration programme and the Minister has allocated a further €11.5 million in 2010 to support regeneration and improvement works in the inner city area.

The number of vacant local authority units nationwide is reported on in the annual local authority service indicators report.

The end 2007 report showed that a total of 5,090 dwellings, excluding those that were subject to major refurbishment programmes, were empty across the country. This represented 4.3% of the total stock of 118,000 dwellings. The 2008 report shows a decrease of 1,231 on the 2007 total - a 24% improvement - bringing the number of vacant units down nationally to 3,859, or 3.15% of total stock.

In order to achieve further improvements, especially energy efficiency improvements, a fund of €40 million was set aside in 2010 to provide co-funding for the retrofitting of vacant properties, both casual and planned, across local authority housing stock. The allocation to Dublin City Council of €7 million for retrofitting voids and energy upgrades, €2.7 million for remedial works and €2 million for compliance with new rented standards will have a very positive impact on improving vacant houses and flats across the city, to facilitate the early re-letting of such properties.

I point out that under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, the management and maintenance of local authority housing stock is a matter for individual authorities. I am happy to say that Dublin City Council has the full support from the Minister of State with responsibility for housing for its social housing investment programme and, in particular, for its delivery of a range of housing responses to meet additional housing needs.

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