Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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221. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the finding by the European Committee of Social Rights that the standard of some local authority housing here is in violation of the Article 16 of the European Social Charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47325/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The recent findings of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) are being taken very seriously and Ireland will provide a formal reply to the findings shortly.

It is important to note that the Committee found no violations by Ireland in respect of many of the key provisions of the Human Rights Charter, including Articles on non-discrimination, the right to protection of health, the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection, and the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion.

However, notwithstanding those findings of ‘no violations’, the adverse findings against Ireland in relation to Article 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection) are currently being reviewed  and considered.  

Remedies in respect of key issues on which complaints were upheld against Ireland are already in train. The regeneration of Dolphin House has commenced since the complaint was made to the ECSR and the first phase of the project is currently on site. This phase consists of the deep retrofitting of 3 of the existing housing blocks to provide 63 refurbished apartments and 37 new build units, comprised of 28 apartments and 9 houses, to give an overall total of 100 new and refurbished units at a cost of €25.5 million. 

The regeneration of St Teresa’s Gardens is also underway and significant funding has been provided to Dublin City Council for de-tenanting, enabling works and demolitions. The new build element will commence in 2018, with 50 social homes planned for phase 1. As with Dolphin House, the Government is committed to this regeneration project and to the beneficial change in living circumstances it will bring to the residents of the area. In addition, the national Regeneration Programme continues to be rolled out in other areas in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Sligo and Dundalk.

These projects are all yielding significant improvements to the housing conditions in the areas involved, as well as investing in social and economic programmes to support holistic improvements in the living circumstances of the areas’ residents.

The importance of a preventative maintenance programme for social housing stock has been explicitly recognised in the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, under which all local authorities will adopt a preventative maintenance approach to housing stock management, including consistent standards and pro-active approaches, and adopt a common national re-letting performance standard. 

Other remedies will also be considered to address the ECSR findings.