Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of units of social housing sold by local authorities under the Tenant Purchase Scheme in 2005. [16558/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Housing statistics are available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. Under the Tenant Purchase Scheme, local authorities completed 1738 sales in 2005.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received representations from local authorities seeking additional funds to enable them to carry out necessary repairs to local authority housing which they are prevented from carrying out at present due to a lack of resources. [16559/06]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if additional funds will be made available to local authorities to enable them to carry out necessary repairs to local authority housing as they are prevented from carrying out these repairs at present due to a lack of funding. [16549/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 71 together.

The management, maintenance and improvements to their rented dwellings is the responsibility of each local authority and the funding of such works is provided by local authorities from their own resources as part of their ongoing maintenance programmes.

My Department does, however, provide capital funding for substantial major refurbishment work to local authority dwellings under the Remedial Works Scheme. My Department has been encouraging local authorities to avail of this scheme to remediate dwellings in need of refurbishment. Funding is also provided to local authorities for the refurbishment of houses that have remained vacant for periods longer than six months and require significant refurbishment prior to reletting. Local authorities are required to meet from their own resources the first €10,000 of the cost of such refurbishment in respect of each dwelling under this initiative. In addition, my Department provides funding, subject to conditions, to local authorities for the installation of central heating in rented houses without such a facility.