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

I will work backwards. I am not in a position to write cheques for €50,000 off the cuff but I will get that checked out. If funding is required for something, it helps when the local authority makes an application for it. Then we can process the application.

In general we encourage a top-class quality and high design in all our local authority housing and there is a massive spend on retrofitting, but any new housing is high specification and most of the houses that I have seen being opened are at A2+, which is a high specification and certainly above what most people are providing. We are clear on this. While there is an urgency in respect of social housing, we are not reneging on quality or design. If there is some issue there, I would be happy to have that examined too.

I am not sure what Louth's proposal is for asset management. I have sat with the council but have not heard that mentioned. I am happy to consider it. We want to encourage the management of our assets, which is our housing stock, to a high order and for rents to be used to refurbish them in general in short-term re-lets. They would not need to enter the voids programme. That is something we would do well to encourage. The Deputy mentioned Louth having a landbank on which it is paying interest. I am aware of this. We have said in this House and in the council's office that the best way to reduce the cost of that land is to use it and to put forward a pipeline of projects. If it owns quite a lot of land, it could build more than a few thousand houses which would not all be needed for social housing. The landbank should be used for affordable and social housing and for some private element. That is the best way to return the money. We are very happy to work with it on proposals to use that land, bring down its debt, and provide much-needed social, affordable and private housing for Louth. I have mentioned that to the council in our meetings and will do so again.

In the voids programme and the money we provide for vacant properties, Louth applied for 16, we granted 15, and it has drawn down money for 13, of 166,000. It has also looked for 36 properties under purchase and renew, which were approved and dealt with, and this week it came back for 32 more. There are no outstanding applications for voids of which I am aware. The Deputy mentioned 92 and 40 but they are not on our desk.

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