Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will ring-fence money obtained from the sale of social and affordable housing units to put towards obtaining further units to ensure the stock of housing is not depleted. [2330/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's housing capital programme has provided significant investment in the construction and acquisition of new social housing stock, as well as supporting major regeneration and remedial works schemes for existing housing stock, thereby ensuring that the overall social housing stock is not depleted. From 1 January 2007, local authorities were given direct control in relation to their internal capital receipts from the sale of local authority dwellings, to be used primarily for extensive improvement works programmes, and on occasion, for additional stock. My Department approves the overall annual programmes and it is the responsibility of individual local authorities to prioritise and advance the range of projects included in their programmes.

Section 13 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides that any moneys accruing to a housing authority from the sale of a dwelling owned by the authority "shall be accounted for by the housing authority in a separate account and, subject to the prior approval of the Minister, may be used for the provision of housing or for the refurbishment or maintenance of existing housing, or any other related purposes". I have no plans, at present, to direct local authorities to ring-fence any such monies solely for the construction or acquisition of new units. Sales of local authority dwellings have, in any event, shown a sharp decline over 2009 and the schemes for local authority sales of affordable housing units were designed to cover the costs of delivering the units, rather than to generate additional funds.