Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

222. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of urban regeneration schemes and the projected cost of these for 2017. [6692/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The schemes in operation, or which are shortly expected to come into operation, with an urban regeneration aspect under the auspices of my Department include the:

- Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP),

- Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development (RAPID),

- Community Facilities Fund,

- Repair and Leasing Scheme,

- Buy and Renew Initiative, and

- Regeneration under the Social Housing Capital Investment Programme (SHCIP).

The SICAP budget for 2017 is €37.5 million.  This includes an allocation of €3 million under the European Structural Funds Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning(PEIL) 2014-2020.  Funding under this Programme is for current projects only.

The Programme for a Partnership Governmentgave a commitment to reactivate the RAPID Programme in 2017, the previous programme having been wound down in 2012.  The funding being provided under the new RAPID scheme will be targeted solely at small scale capital projects in disadvantaged urban areas. The total budget for the new scheme for 2017 is €4.5 million.  Proposals relating to the structure and delivery of the new programme are currently being finalised.

The Programme for Partnership Governmentalso gave a commitment to develop a new Community Development Scheme in 2017, which has evolved into the Communities Facilities Scheme. Similar to the RAPID scheme, the funding is for small scale capital projects only but in addition to targeting disadvantaged urban areas, it also covers disadvantaged rural areas. The total budget for the new scheme for 2017 is €2 million.

The new Repair and Leasing Scheme was launched in Waterford and Carlow on a pilot basis in October 2016.  The purpose of the pilot is to ensure that the scheme is workable from the perspectives of local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies ((AHBs) respectively prior to the scheme being rolled out nationally. It is anticipated that approximately 3,500 units will be secured for social housing through the scheme over the period 2017-2021. A budget of €6m has been provided for 2017 to cover the refurbishment costs of 150 units, with a total budget of €140m being provided over the lifetime of the scheme. I am currently considering the scope to accelerate further the rollout of this scheme.

The Buy and Renew Initiative is aimed at facilitating local authorities to purchase and renew housing units in need of remediation and make them available for social housing use. €25m funding has been provided for the scheme for 2017. The details of the scheme are expected to be announced shortly.

The Social Housing Capital Investment Programme spans a range of Exchequer funded and local authority funded programmes and initiatives designed to maintain and improve the existing local authority housing stock of over 130,000 units.  This programme includes an ambitious regeneration programme, funding for remedial works projects as well as for the provision of extensions, improvement works in lieu of local authority housing and improvements to accommodate tenants with disabilities.

The regeneration projects being funded by my Department under this Programme target the country’s most disadvantaged communities, including those defined by the most extreme social exclusion, unemployment and anti-social behaviour. The Department currently supports a programme of large-scale regeneration projects in Dublin, Cork and Limerick and smaller-scale projects in Tralee, Sligo and Dundalk.  These projects seek to address the causes of disadvantage in these communities through a holistic programme of physical, social and economic regeneration.  The total budgetary provision for the estates regeneration programme for 2017 is €97.787m.