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

I thank Deputy Catherine Byrne for raising this issue and I know she is extremely concerned about it. On her final point, I intend to meet the new Dublin city manager as soon as possible. I will be addressing with him all the issues to which the Deputy refers.

The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including the carrying out of pre-letting repairs, is a matter for each individual local authority under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. My Department is committed to supporting local authorities in maintaining and improving the quality of the national social housing stock through a range of measures, including large-scale urban regeneration programmes, improving the standard and energy efficiency of dwellings, pre-letting repairs and improvement and refurbishment works to vacant properties, in order to return them to productive use as quickly as possible. This year, my Department is providing funding of more than €62 million to Dublin City Council in respect of its 2013 social housing programme. This includes €31 million for regeneration projects in Ballymun and at a number of other locations in Dublin city. A further €9.8 million is being provided under the remedial works scheme for the refurbishment of tenanted and vacant units in Liberty House and Bunratty.

Constraints on the public capital programme and the reduction in new social housing supply have added to the urgency of focusing on vacant stock. This is relevant both in terms of vacancies management and rent receipts. In this regard, the most recent value for money study on management and maintenance of vacant dwellings in local authorities, which was carried out by the Local Government Audit Service in 2011, contained a number of sound recommendations in respect of issues such as maintenance and repairs, allocation and refusals, tenant sustainability, etc. All of these should assist local authorities in implementing improvement works programmes. One of the recommendations was to the effect that Dublin city would pilot a term maintenance and refurbishment works contract in order to reduce significantly the re-letting time for vacant dwellings. This has been very successful in reducing the average turnaround time from 27.82 weeks to 6.4 weeks. In excess of 500 units have been completed under this programme to date. In addition, 107 units are being refurbished with direct labour.

Since 2011, a more target-driven, cost-effective and administratively efficient improvement programme is being implemented. Making vacant stock available for re-letting was a priority in 2011 and 2012 and, because of the decline in internal capital receipts, my Department increased the level of capital support to local authorities for improvement works and refurbishment of long-term voids. Over the course of these two years, my Department focused almost exclusively on refurbishing vacant properties with the objective of bringing as many as possible of these back into productive use. During that period, 4,700 units were improved at a cost of more than €52 million. A total of 2,659 units were refurbished in 2011 and a further 2,115 in 2012. Given the constraints on capital budgets for new stock and the concentration on vacant properties in recent years and in view of the substantial numbers of vacant properties which were improved, my Department is focusing attention on those occupied and older dwellings which lack adequate insulation and draught-proofing. Many tenants were concerned by the fact that vacant units were being refurbished while no works were being carried out on their properties. We were very conscious of that fact.

Local authorities are undertaking energy retrofitting works in conjunction with pre-letting repairs with the objective of getting best value for money and ensuring the existing stock will be available to meet housing need. A sum of €10 million is being provided for this purpose in 2013 as part of the social housing investment programme. On 5 June, I announced a new €50 million, three year jobs stimulus energy efficiency investment programme for local authority homes. This will target the 25,000 least energy-efficient properties and will result in warmer homes and lower energy bills for thousands of families. It will also create approximately 1,000 jobs in the sector. Over the next three years, a suite of works to include wall and roof-attic insulation as well as draught proofing of windows and doors will be carried out on each of these properties.

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