Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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274. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of houses Galway City Council approved for construction and approved for persons with a disability in the past year; the details of applications from Galway City Council for approval to construct local authority housing that he has not yet decided on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16082/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Arising from the Social Housing Strategy 2020, targets and provisional funding allocations have been notified to each local authority, including Galway City Council, and are available on my Department’s website at the following link: . Galway City Council has a target to deliver 518 social housing units for the period out to 2017, supported by an allocation of €28.3 million, to be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes. My Department does not have a role in directly determining the number of social housing units that Galway City Council, or any other local authority, prioritises or allocates to different categories of tenant. Depending on the needs of those on the housing waiting list, it is a matter for the Council to make housing proposals and to allocate housing to, inter alia, persons with a disability. Through funding programmes such as the Capital Assistance Scheme, my Department supports local authorities and approved housing bodies in their work to provide such housing.

Following the notification of targets to local authorities last year, approvals for a substantial number of new social housing projects were announced in May 2015, July 2015 and January 2016. Between these three announcements, almost €680 million has been allocated for over 3,900 social housing units. These are mainly new builds, but also include some turnkey developments and approvals under the Capital Assistance Scheme. Details of these project approvals, including those for Galway City Council, are available on my Department’s website at the following links:

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My Department also supported local authorities in delivering over 1,000 social housing units in 2015 through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses and apartments. This activity is continuing in 2016 on the part of all local authorities, including Galway City Council.

The Deputy can be assured that my Department will be supporting all local authorities, including Galway City Council, to advance projects as soon as possible and I have confirmed to local authorities that funding is available to fully support their efforts in this regard. There are currently no applications to construct local authority housing from Galway City Council awaiting approval from my Department.