Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 516: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action he is taking to cut the housing waiting lists. [38075/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's commitment to addressing the housing waiting lists is reflected in the 5% increase in the provision for social and affordable housing for 2006 in the recent Abridged Estimates Volume, AEV. This is the first step in the Estimates process and does not take account of any further adjustments, particularly with regard to capital provision, which may be announced on budget day. The 5% increase in the 2006 provision for housing announced in the AEV corresponds to an investment programme of €1.3 billion in 2006. This is a significant financial commitment and maintains the momentum of a sustained period of investment in housing in recent years.

Since 1997, over €7 billion in funding has been provided under a range of social and affordable housing programmes and at the end of this year that investment will have met the needs of some 100,000 households. The 2006 provision will reinforce this progress and it is anticipated that the needs of over 13,000 households will be met next year including some 5,500 completions under the main local authority programme. Some 1,850 units will be completed by the voluntary and co-operative sector and there will be a continued focus on the regeneration and delivery of some 3,000 units of affordable housing.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 517: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action he will take to increase the amount of social housing provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000. [38076/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Part V provisions are now fully operational in all local authorities and I am satisfied that they are contributing significantly to the provision of social and affordable housing. The manner to which local authorities avail of Part V arrangements for social and affordable housing is a matter to be determined by individual local authorities based on the housing needs of identified in their housing strategies. It is open, for example, to local authorities to specify in their housing strategies different percentages for the number of social and affordable housing that will be subject to Part V requirements.

It is not intended that Part V should be the only mechanism for the provision of social housing. The main local authority housing construction programmes, along with voluntary and co-operative construction programmes, continue to be the major contributors to the national social rented housing stock. Taking account of new local authority housing, vacancies arising in existing houses and output under other social and affordable housing measures, I anticipate that the needs of in excess of 13,000 households will be met in 2005.