Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 852: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of social houses which have been provided by each of the county councils in each of the past four years; if he has satisfied himself that all councils are making sufficient effort to utilise this funding; if not, the steps he proposes to take to encourage them to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19001/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Details on the number of social house completions are available for the period to September 2004 in my Department's housing statistics bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library, and for the period to December 2004 are on the Department's website at www.environ.ie.

The housing needs of an increasing number of households are being met each year through the provision of housing by local authorities and voluntary and co-operative housing organisations. Since 1997 the housing needs of 86,000 households have been met and in general, over the past decade, the resources allocated to my Department for social housing purposes have been fully spent.

My Department, in its overall responsibility for managing housing capital budgets, seeks to ensure that these are spent as effectively as possible. In the case of local authority housing, where one authority does not require their full social housing allocation, my Department can reassign the balance to other authorities and there is also flexibility to use any unused resources for other housing purposes. There was some under-spend in 2004 on the allocation available for voluntary and co-operative housing, but new facilities under the multi-annual capital envelope regime, permitted these resources to be carried into 2005 for reallocation.

The Government has allocated record levels of funding or social and affordable housing programmes this year. Total capital spending on social and affordable housing output in 2005, including non-Exchequer finance, will amount to some €2 billion and will assist in meeting the housing needs of more than 13,000 households. In addition, it is anticipated that a number of households in private rented accommodation will transfer to the new rental accommodation scheme now being introduced.

One of the key lessons from past performance is the need for certainty around funding and the value of a multi-annual approach. The Government's decision to introduce five-year multi-annual capital investment programmes provides the appropriate framework in this regard. To ensure a systematic and integrated approach to the use of these resources, my Department has initiated the development by local authorities of new five-year action plans for social and affordable housing. These plans, which are now in place, will allow for the effective allocation of resources by my Department and will ensure that these resources are used to best effect to deliver the optimum level of quality housing in a manner which contributes to the social inclusion objectives of breaking cycles of disadvantage and dependency. Provision has also been made for a mid term review of the plans in 2006 which will allow for adjustments to be made in light of actual performance and any new housing policy initiatives arising in the interim.