Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 32 together.

The Deputy's question is mainly about getting the money spent but on the funding issue the funding has gone back up, and rightly so. In recent years approximately €5 million or €6 million has been spent on capital projects. Next year the figure will go up by 69%. The funding is increasing but ensuring that it is spent is another matter. We are reviewing the position in that regard.

A Programme for a Partnership Government commits to establishing a special working group to audit the current delivery and implementation of local authorities' Traveller accommodation plans and to consult with stakeholders on key areas of concern. This commitment has been underpinned in Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, which provides for the commissioning by the Housing Agency of an expert, independent review of expenditure on, and delivery of, Traveller accommodation to underpin the work of the special working group.

The review, which will have regard to the targets contained in the local authority Traveller accommodation programmes, has already commenced and is due to be completed in quarter 2 of 2017. That will deal with all the issues raised at the conference earlier in November and the concerns about delivery and getting this money spent in the right areas and delivering the accommodation. It will provide factual information and thus provide a key platform for the special working group to progress its work effectively. The working group will be established by the statutorily appointed National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, NTACC, immediately after completion of the review. We expect the working group to complete its work in an expedient manner and, as provided for in the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, the national committee may then advise us on any appropriate measures for improving the provision and management of accommodation at local level.

The question relates to the drawdown of funding for 2016. My Department was in contact recently with the relevant local authorities in order to ensure that drawdown is maximised. The position will continue to be monitored closely by my Department over the coming weeks but we expect that this year's capital allocation will be drawn down. The same concern was raised this time last year that the money would not be spent, and it was spent. The Deputy is right that the money must be spent because we need to defend increases over the next couple of years.

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