James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The Government has in the past given them the money to do so. The funding available from my Department under the planned maintenance voids programme is available to support minimal turnaround times, with all local authorities moving to a position of aligning works with the criteria of the relevant regulations and meeting their legal obligations as a landlord. This will limit the impact of funding shortfalls, which must be absorbed from the local authorities' own resources. Given the significant Exchequer investment into the stock improvement programmes over recent years, particularly for voids, I now envisage that local authorities should be in a strong position to continue the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance.

A Sinn Féin TD earlier gave the example of a house having been left in immaculate condition. What did the local authority do? It went in and gutted it. That is absolute madness.

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