Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if local authorities will be asked when assessing housing needs and drawing up their letting scheme for housing to address the plight of older, single and separated persons who are on local authority housing lists for some years. [36613/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities are required to make a scheme of letting priorities to determine the order of priority to be afforded to applicants in the lettings of dwellings provided by the authority. The order of priority of different categories of persons in such schemes and the basis on which applicants are assessed are matters primarily for decision by the local authority.

In the context of its overview of schemes of letting priorities, my Department continues to advise local authorities of the need to provide a reasonable mix of dwellings suited to the different types of households already on waiting lists and to plan their future programmes taking account of the estimated size and type of households likely to be seeking local authority and voluntary housing in the future.

The guidelines issued by my Department to local authorities indicate that schemes of letting priorities should aim to promote equality of access to local authority housing based on relative housing needs to ensure that a dwelling, if suitable, is let to the person in greatest need and to ensure that no category of needy persons is at a permanent disadvantage vis-À-vis other categories. There are no proposals for further guidelines to local authorities on this issue.