Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 40: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cuts he has recommended to the Department of Finance in relation to housing. [30401/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The financial provision for housing next year will be determined in the context of the 2012 Estimates process.

The Estimates process itself will be informed by the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) which the Government is undertaking. The objective of this exercise is to measure the effectiveness of specific programmes having regard to their intended objectives, value for money considerations, and contribution to economic recovery. As part of the process, my Department has made a submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Departmental submissions made in the context of the CRE are a central part of the overall pre-budget deliberations of the Government. As such, release of these documents could not be considered in advance of Government decisions on the forthcoming Budget.

In allocating the resources available to me as Minister for Housing and Planning I will focus the impact of necessary 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 will continue to direct available capital resources substantially towards the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.