Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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570. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which he expects Kildare County Council to be in a position to draw down the necessary funding to meet the urgent local authority housing requirements, with particular reference to identifying properties that may be purchased in each town or village, thereby addressing the most serious aspects of the housing issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46356/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The funding provided to local authorities under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme supports a range of initiatives for the development of new social housing units, the acquisition of additional units and the upgrade of existing social housing stock to ensure that it continues to be available for social housing purposes. Through these initiatives, Kildare County Council is advancing a wide range of projects with funding in excess of €15 million committed by my Department, of which over €8 million will contribute to both the acquisition and build of social housing units throughout the county.

The planning and development of these projects and the drawdown of funding on completion is a matter for the Council to progress and my Department w ill continue to liaise with them in that regard.

Looking ahead, the planning of new social housing units will involve my Department working with each individual local authority. As housing authorities, local authorities are responsible for the identification of their area’s social housing need and the development of the appropriate responses. My Department will continue to liaise with Kildare County Council on additional projects that could be advanced in 2015 and beyond to meet the social housing need in the county.