Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 771: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of local authority houses built in 2004; the further number of houses provided as a result of Part V; the number built by voluntary groups; his views on whether an improvement is expected in 2005; if so, the areas of same; his further views on whether the number of social houses being provided is insufficient to deal with the ongoing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33005/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities completed-acquired 4,510 units in 2004, including units acquired to let by local authorities under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2004. Detailed information on the number of local authority houses completed-acquired in 2004 and the number of social and affordable units provided under Part V are available in the annual housing statistics bulletins published by the Department, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on the Department's website at www.environ.ie.

It is anticipated that local authorities will complete-acquire in the region of 5,500 units in 2005, including completions under Part V and various regeneration programmes. It is also expected that the voluntary sector will complete some 1,600 units in 2005. Detailed information on an individual local authority basis will be available in due course in the 2005 annual housing statistics bulletin.

The Government has put in place a number of new arrangements to facilitate the delivery of strong programmes of social and affordable housing. In consultation with the Department, local authorities have developed five year action plans for their social and affordable housing programmes covering the period to 2008. The preparation of these plans has improved the identification of priority needs and will help to ensure a more coherent and co-ordinated response across all housing services. They also provided an overview of delivery by a range of providers — local authorities, voluntary and co-operative housing bodies and the private sector — through Part V and public-private partnership arrangements.

Some €2 billion is being made available for housing programmes in 2005 to further increase the output of social and affordable housing. Overall, in 2005, it is anticipated that total social housing provision including new local authority housing, vacancies arising in existing houses and output under other social housing measures will meet the needs of in excess of 13,000 households.