Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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My Department's involvement with voluntary and co-operative housing schemes relates primarily to the provision of funds for individual projects. The detailed administration of the schemes, and the certification that projects comply with the terms and conditions of the funding schemes, are the responsibility of the relevant local authority. Mayo County Council submitted a proposal under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) for a 10 unit scheme at Spadow, Glenamoy, to be undertaken by Glenamoy Housing Association. Projects are selected for funding approval on the basis of the priority afforded to individual proposals by the local authority. The Glenamoy project was not included in the work programme for 2010 primarily because it was not afforded a sufficiently high priority by Mayo County Council.

Funding of €2.5 million is being provided to Mayo County Council this year to meet expenditure on CAS projects currently underway. Due to the current level of commitments and having regard to available funding, projects proposed under CAS will only be considered in the event of a new call for proposals. It will be a matter for Mayo County Council to prioritise projects locally having regard to the relative merit of any proposals received and the extent to which they meet housing need.