Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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517. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the status of the €180 million funding allocated to approved housing bodies for capital funded social housing units including the amount recouped by these agencies to date; and the number and location of the new builds for which this funding has been recouped. [4070/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In July 2015, I announced funding approval of over €150 million under the Capital Assistance Scheme nationally, to deliver over 1,000 new units of accommodation by approved housing bodies. At that time I also announced additional approvals under the local authority construction programme valued at €30 million.

The funding being provided to approved housing bodies under that announcement is for both the construction and the acquisition of houses and apartments to assist those with specific needs such as elderly people, persons with intellectual or physical disability and homeless persons. In respect of construction projects announced in July 2015, these were all given initial approval-in-principle by my Department to proceed through the design and planning processes. As we know, the construction of housing takes time as all projects undergo design and planning work and these and other factors can have a direct impact on the timing for the advancement of construction projects.

While final figures are still being collated, the estimate is that approved housing bodies delivered over 350 units during 2015 under the Capital Assistance Scheme. Some acquisitions of houses and apartments approved in July last are being finalised and these, together with advancing the approved construction projects , will be the key work to be undertaken by approved housing bodies into 2016.