Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 529: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of new house starts approved for each local authority in each of the past five years; and the corresponding number of house completions for each of the local authorities for each of the past five years. [27499/05]

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 530: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of social housing starts approved for each local authority for each of the past five years; and the number of completions for each of the local authorities for each of the past five years. [27500/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 529 and 530 together.

Since 2000 local authorities have operated their housing construction programmes on the basis of a four-year multi-annual allocation of house starts for the period 2000 to 2003. This replaced the system of individual annual house start allocations in operation prior to 2000. Information on the number of authorised starts allocated to each local authority under the 2000 to 2003 multi-annual programme is set out in the accompanying table.

Multi-annual action plans have been prepared by local authorities for the provision of social and affordable housing for the period 2004 to 2008. These have been approved by my Department and are designed to assist local authorities in identifying priority needs over the coming years and providing a coherent and co-ordinated response across all housing services, including delivery of housing by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector.

Detailed information on the number of local authority house starts and completions and output by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector by local authority for the years 2000 to 2004 is available in the annual housing statistics bulletins published by my Department, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas library. These figures, along with the figures for the first six months of 2005, are also available on the Department's website at www.environ.ie.