Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of new tenant purchase scheme transactions entered into by local authority tenants with Cork City Council and with Cork County Council in each of the years 2011 to 2015, inclusive, and in 2016 to date, in tabular form.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18231/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The information requested on the sale of local authority houses for each of the years 2011 to 2014 is available on my Department’s website, and can be viewed via the following link: www.environ.ie/housing/statistics/social-and-affordble/other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics .

The data for 2015 and for the first quarter of 2016is being collated by my Department and will be published shortly on my Department’s website.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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198. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of first time lettings of local authority housing and of lettings as a result of casual vacancies from 2010 to 2015, inclusive, as used to be published by his Department until 2009; if in 2014 and 2015 lettings as a result of casual vacancies are counted separately from lettings as a result of renovated voids and refurbishments or if they are included in those figures; and if so, the number of lettings as a result of voids and casual vacancies are made up of voids and casual vacancies respectively. [18232/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department collects and publishes annual data on the opening and closing stock of rental properties by local authority, including the amount of these that are occupied. These are available at the following link: www.environ.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-rented-sector-activity. The other categories of data requested by the Deputy are not collected by my Department.

The routine turnaround of vacant social housing stock is a matter for each local authority and is carried out under their ongoing maintenance programme. Lettings to such properties are carried out in accordance with the rules that pertain in the housing authority regarding its scheme of letting priorities.

In addition, my Department introduced a funding programme in 2014 to support local authorities to deal with the build-up of vacant social housing units, the remediation cost of which is beyond the means of the local authorities. This programme also supports the retrofitting of insulation to such houses so that they are returned to use in a very energy efficient condition. Between 2014 and 2015, a total of 5,000 such units were remediated with support from my Department to an overall cost of €60m. This funding by my Department is conditional on the accommodation being tenanted by the local authorities as early as possible following the works, with priority given to homeless families.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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199. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of new local authority units that were acquired and the number that were leased under the Part V scheme in 2015. [18233/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department collects statistics from local authorities in relation to Part V outputs which are available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie/housing/statistics/affordable-housing/affordable-housing-and-part-v-statistics. The returns for 2015 have been received and the information is being checked and will be published shortly.

The option for a local authority to lease units from a developer under a Part V agreement was only introduced last September and information on the use of this option was not included in the request for information sent to local authorities in respect of 2015. This information will be collected in respect of 2016 and subsequent years.