Written answers

Thursday, 21 July 2016

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Local Authority Housing Funding

Photo of Bobby AylwardBobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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284. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money utilised by the local authorities in counties Carlow and Kilkenny specifically for the provision of building social housing units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24238/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, this week I published Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan forHousing and Homelessness. Over the period of the Plan, 47,000 homes will be delivered under the various social housing programmes, together with an expansion of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme nationwide. This delivery will be achieved through collaboration between local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the National Treasury Management Agency and the private sector.

Previous to this week's launch of the new Action Plan, social housing targets and funding allocations had issued under the Social Housing Strategyto all local authorities in April of last year. Over €1.5 billion in funding allocations was announced to support all local authorities to deliver social housing via a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes out to 2017. Those allocations and associated targets for each local authority, including Carlow and Kilkenny, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:

www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/minsters-kelly-coffey-announce-eu15-billion-social-housing-targets-local.

Following this notification of targets, announcements in respect of a substantial new set of social housing projects were made in May 2015, in July 2015 and in January 2016. Between these three announcements, almost €680 million has been allocated for over 3,900 social housing new builds, turnkey developments and acquisitions. Details of these project approvals, including those for Kilkenny and Carlow, are available on my Department's website at the following links:

www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm

www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm

www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-further-1000-social-housing-units.

I am keen that local authorities advance these projects as soon as possible and have assured them that funding is available to fully support their efforts in this regard. In 2015, Carlow County Council delivered six new social houses through construction, while Kilkenny County Council delivered one. In 2015 and to end-June 2016, an amount of €776,000 was expended on social housing construction by the local authority in Carlow and the equivalent figure for Kilkenny was €1,764,623. As per the project approvals set out at the links above, I anticipate a notable ramping up in terms of both construction spend and delivery over the next year and the measures set out in Rebuilding Ireland, an Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, including the establishment of a new Housing Delivery Office within my Department, will have a direct benefit in that regard.

While social housing construction projects are being advanced, acquisitions of new and second-hand houses and apartments remains an effective means of meeting immediate social housing need. In 2015, Kilkenny and Carlow County Councils secured the purchase of 37 and 19 new social housing units, respectively. Some of these acquisitions, as well as some of the approved construction projects, were under the Capital Assistance Scheme whereby Approved Housing Bodies deliver social housing for those with specific needs such as elderly people, persons with intellectual or physical disability and homeless persons.

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