Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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13. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of vacant local authority homes here on average at any one time; the current average turn around time for vacant local authority homes including the fastest and slowest figure; and the strategies that are being considered for improving these figures. [27059/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Eighth Annual Report of the Local Government Management Agency, published this year, which details service indicators in local authorities in 2011, shows the average time taken, from the date of vacating of a unit to the date when all necessary repairs are carried out, to re-let a unit in each authority. The figures show that some 4,356 dwellings were vacant, accounting for 3.33% of the total national social housing stock of around 130,800 units.

The length of time taken to re-let units varies considerably between authorities and ranges from 8.4 weeks in Offaly County Council to a high of 65.1 weeks in Sligo County Council, with the average time taken to complete repairs just under 21 weeks. I propose to circulate with the Official Report a tabular statement based on the information set out in the Report, outlining the time taken to re-let dwellings in all local authority areas.

It is a matter for each local authority, as an integral part of the management and maintenance of their social housing stock, to carry out any necessary pre-letting repairs and maintenance works to dwellings which are vacated by tenants in order to re-let the units to new tenants within the shortest possible timeframe.

Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, local authorities are allocated capital funding each year in respect of a range of measures to improve the standard and overall quality of their social housing stock. These measures include large-scale regeneration projects, estate-wide remedial works and retrofitting works to individual properties.

Given the constraints on new local authority housing supply, it is important that the existing stock of local authority housing is available and in fit condition to meet housing need. Houses requiring significant pre-letting improvement works can quickly deteriorate if left vacant for an extended period. Over the course of 2011 and 2012 my Department placed a particular focus on refurbishing vacant properties in order to bring as many as possible back into productive use. In 2011, local authorities prioritised the most seriously deficient properties and funding of up to €35,000 per house was provided to refurbish 2,659 of these at an overall cost of €32.7 million. Last year, the focus on retrofitting vacant properties was maintained and a further €20 million was provided for the retrofitting of around 2,115 vacant properties. I am confident that the figures in the LGMA Report for 2012 will show a considerable improvement on those for 2011.

Given the concentration on vacant properties in recent years, and considering that over 7,600 properties were improved in the last four years, it is timely to focus attention on those occupied and older dwellings which lack adequate insulation and draught-proofing. My Department estimates that there may be as many as 25,000 such properties. I am determined that we enhance the energy efficiency of these properties, improve living conditions and enable tenants to make real and substantial savings on fuel costs. Earlier this year, I put in place a new €10 million energy retrofitting measure for tenanted houses, largely based around roof and wall insulation, with the potential to reduce energy bills by over €400 per year. I’m pleased that last week the Government committed to providing an additional €50 million to accelerate this programme and ensure that up to 25,000 homes are fully insulated and draught-proofed over the next two years.

Table 1 – Average time taken for Repairs.

Average time taken (in weeks)from the date of vacation of dwelling to the date when all necessary repairs are carried out and which are deemed necessary to re-let the dwelling in 2011

Table 2 – Total number of Dwelling in LA stock 2011