Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 75 together.

I am keenly aware of the challenges we face in delivering housing supports to a range of vulnerable households and groups. The difficulties facing the State's finances and the necessity to reduce public expenditure to sustainable levels are impacting on capital programmes all across the public service. My Department's housing programme is no exception. Deputies will be aware that the amount of capital funding available has decreased significantly in recent years along the lines highlighted in the medium-term Exchequer framework for infrastructure and capital investment 2012-16. Regrettably, these steps are necessary to bring stability to the public finances. As a result, capital spending on housing programmes in 2013 is down on last year.

Reduced capital budgets inevitably give rise to difficult choices and decisions in allocating the available funding. This means balancing the available capital across a range of important areas and spreading these scarce resources in a way that meets the needs of those concerned to the best extent possible. In addition to the private housing grants, the housing capital budget needs to cover important measures such as regeneration, estate-wide improvements, energy retrofitting and meeting the housing needs of older people and people with physical, intellectual and mental health disabilities. I am allocating €167 million for these measures in 2013.

The Government's housing strategy for people with a disability 2011-16 aims to support community based independent living for people with disabilities. My continued support for special needs housing provision will assist in this regard. The strategy recognises the role of the adaptation grant schemes as part of a broader framework of supports. I am reviewing the terms of the grant schemes and will monitor operations to ensure effective implementation of the strategy generally.

This year I am allocating 12.4% of the housing budget, some € 34.2 million in all , to the grant schemes compared to 13.2% in 2012. In allocating the available funding across all 34 city and county councils, I did so in as transparent and as fair a way as possible. In framing the 2013 allocations my Department wrote to each local authority requesting details of the numbers and value of grants where work had been approved to commence. Between them, local authorities reported contractual commitments in respect of approved grants totalling €18 million. Local authorities were always encouraged to maintain continuity in approving and paying grants and commitments carried forward into the new financial year always had first call on the available funding. This year each authority was allocated the full amount of its contractual commitments. Only one local authority, Laois County Council, reported a zero commitment for grants approved.

The balance of the available funding was allocated on the basis of each authority's share of the new applications on hand in January 2013. I believe this is a fair way of apportioning the funding. I appreciate this approach has resulted in lower than expected allocations for some authorities. Should particular difficulties arise in some local authorities in the course of 2013, I have a contingency in place to deal with this. I have set aside a small capital reserve and I will consider applications from local authorities for a supplementary allocation once the initial allocation has been exhausted.

A detailed table setting out the information on the combined Exchequer plus local authority own resources allocations for the years 2010 to 2013, inclusive, will be circulated with the Official Report.

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