Written answers

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Social and Affordable Housing

6:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Question 266: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason for the reduction in capital expenditure for social housing programmes over the past two budgets compared to the water services programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42242/10]

Photo of Michael FinneranMichael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's key priorities in shaping the overall housing provision have been to focus the impact of necessary budgetary adjustments on the areas in which there is scope to maintain output through more flexible approaches and where the policy context supports such approaches, and to continue to direct available capital resources substantially towards the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. In keeping with this strategy, the reform programme, now well underway in my Department, involves a shift away from construction and acquisition towards a more graduated system of supports. This refocusing, in policy and financial terms, is rooted in the clearly articulated rationale set out in the Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities.

While the allocations for 2010 show a reduction in the provision for the main traditional local authority programme I anticipate that, through more flexible market based delivery mechanisms such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme and long term leasing, as well as the significant increase in funding available under the Capital Assistance Scheme in 2010 to €145m, and the availability, shortly, of a direct lending facility from the Housing Finance Agency to approved housing bodies, delivery across the range of social housing measures in the future will continue the momentum built up over recent years.

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