James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

Given the legal responsibility on local authorities with regard to management and maintenance, they play an important role to ensure adequate budgetary provision for the purpose of housing repairs and cyclical maintenance from their rental income. The funding my Department provides is supplementary rather than available to fully replace local authorities' own self-funding.

Returning to the example Deputy Gould gave earlier, in five years the local authority could not find the wherewithal to put in stairs.

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