Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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129. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason for the extremely low allocation to Galway city local authority for the capital housing programme, which is 97% below 2009 levels. [22516/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The capital funding that my Department provides to Galway City Council and to all other local authorities for social housing, is directly related to the level of social housing delivery that each authority is undertaking in any particular year, and the associated spend.  With €5.35 billion secured to support social housing delivery under Rebuilding Ireland, very substantial funding is available to support the housing programmes of local authorities.

I am keen, therefore, that Galway City Council advances its delivery as soon as possible.  I have assured all local authorities that funding is in place to support their activity in respect of new social housing construction and acquisition.

As well as each local authority's own programme to build and acquire new social housing, they are also working with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) who can deliver new social housing through a range of funding mechanisms.  I am pleased to see that Galway City Council is working productively with the AHB sector to secure new social housing in this way. 

Information on all social housing construction projects being implemented by the local authorities and also by AHBs, has been published and is available at the following link: .