Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I took this job primarily to deal with the issue of housing because it is something that is quite close to my heart and is one of the largest issues facing this country both from the public and from the private perspective. The work that is going on between my Department, a number of agencies and the local authorities is nearing conclusion. It has taken a period of time. The Deputy must remember that I only announced the social housing strategy and the allocation of €3.8 million in December.

I am hopeful that in a few weeks time we will have broken down the allocations across the country. All Deputies across all sides of the House will be made aware of the allocations and, dare I say it, there are some very good projects out there. I have made it my personal business to visit as many local authorities as possible or else have met their representatives here. I have met representatives of the local authorities here on numerous occasions to prioritise the provision of housing. When I took this job, the first thing I did was address local authority managers to tell them that this is my priority, that I would get the funding and for us to ensure that there would not be a big lag time in being able to get sites moving as regards developing houses and working with the approved housing bodies and other organisations. I can assure the Deputy that in the next month or so we will have an outline across local authorities and in particular we will take account of where the demand is most acute.

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