Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 425: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will visit the Dolphin House flats complex, Dublin 8, following the findings of the human rights commissioner on the living conditions which prevail there. [23165/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 426: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will make additional funding available to Dublin City Council to address the issues highlighted by the human rights commissioner's hearing into conditions in the Dolphin House flats complex, Dublin 8; and if he will speed up the regeneration process. [23166/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 427: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason the full detailed sewerage report regarding the Dolphin House flats complex, Dublin 8, has not been released. [23167/10]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 428: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to address the housing conditions in Dolphin House flats complex, Dublin 8; if he is concerned that the existing situation will result, or may already have resulted in, damage to the health and well-being of the residents of the complex; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23183/10]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 429: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding allocated to Dublin City Council in 2010; his views on whether this level of funding is adequate to allow the local authority to address the needs of the local communities; if he is concerned that the cancellation or deferring of plans for the regeneration of a number of flats complexes is acceptable, in view of the standards that exist in some of these complexes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23188/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 to 429, inclusive, together.

With regard to social housing maintenance issues generally, under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966 the management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock is a matter for individual authorities, in this case Dublin City Council.

Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, as amended by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. With very limited exemptions, these regulations apply to local authority and voluntary housing units, as well as private rented accommodation, and all landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the regulations. The publication of any report into sewerage matters in the Dolphin's house complex is therefore a matter for the landlord, Dublin City Council.

On the more general issue of long-term regeneration my Department is committed to a multi-annual regeneration programme in Dublin City to help improve the lives and conditions of the communities involved. The programme is reviewed on a regular basis with Dublin City Council, including through the biannual Housing Action Plan meetings, with new projects added and additional elements of existing projects advanced, as resources permit. It is a matter for Dublin City Council, in the first instance, to prioritise and manage the advancement of projects within the programme, having regard to its available funding resources.

Over the past decade my Department has invested over €100 million in the Dublin City Council inner city flats regeneration programme to improve the accommodation quality of the complexes, as well as to address economic and social issues including anti-social behaviour. Under the 2009 capital programme, my Department provided €12 million for projects at Bridgefoot Street, Queen Street, Lourdes House, and Sean Treacy House. Investment in approved projects at Poplar Row, Lourdes House, and Seán Treacy House is continuing in 2010 with funding of almost €9 million available to substantially complete the programme.

In 2008, due to the changing economic climate, the City Council was not in a position to progress a number of projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements. The City Council therefore suspended its PPP programme pending recovery in the market, and established a multi-disciplinary Special Housing Taskforce to examine alternative options for the redevelopment, in particular, of the priority regeneration projects i.e. St Michael's Estate, O'Devaney Gardens and Dominick Street. The Taskforce's initial strategy for the phased development of these estates, incorporating the construction of social housing as Phase 1, was adopted by the City Council in December 2008.

In support of this process, my Department has liaised closely with Dublin City Council to ensure that the former PPP regeneration projects are considered for inclusion in the national regeneration programme. In this regard my Department issued approval in 2009 to the City Council to go to tender for phase one of the St. Michael's Estate Project and funding of €3.5 million is available to support the project this year. Detailed proposals for the future redevelopment of O'Devaney Gardens and Dominick Street are expected from the City Council in 2010/2011 and in the meantime the City Council is continuing its strategy for the detenanting of these areas.

With regard to specific regeneration proposals for Dolphin House, my Department has not yet received a proposal from Dublin City Council. However, I understand that the City Council has set up a further Taskforce which is examining redevelopment options for the next group of projects, one of which is Dolphin House. The Regeneration Board, established by the City Council, has consultants engaged to work with the Dolphin House residents with a view to developing regeneration solutions that are acceptable to the community and that can be implemented.

It will be up to Dublin City Council to decide on the type of regeneration proposal that is most appropriate for the area and the means by which the project should be delivered. However, it is open to the Council to prioritise the project in terms of its Social Housing Investment Programme and submit a proposal in the usual way to my Department for project approval and funding from within the authority's annual Social Housing funding allocation.

Finally, my Department continues to work actively with Dublin City Council in connection with its Social Housing Investment Programme and as part of this I support and look forward to the Council's progression of its ambitious regeneration programme.