Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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125. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding provided to local authorities by local authority in 2019 and to date in 2020. [34451/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The funding provided to local authorities from my Department, as it was configured at the time, is set out in the attached spreadsheet. It should be noted that the vote payments to Limerick City and County Council include the HAP payments for the entire country.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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126. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding provided for voids to local authorities in 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [34452/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Voids Programme funded by my Department, 1,503 vacant social housing homes were returned to productive use in 2019. This figure does not include homes which were returned to productive use by local authorities using funding from their own resources. Exchequer funding of some €26.7m was provided supporting local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-letting as detailed in the table below.

In March 2020, as part of the normal voids programme a call for proposals also issued for COVID-19 related voids funding to local authorities. To date, 401 vacant properties under the Covid subheading and 358 under the normal programme have already been returned to productive use at a cost of €8.9m and this work continues as a priority.

In addition, under the July stimulus a further €40m in funding was made available to support local authorities with their work in this area. This additional funding will see 2,500 vacant properties brought back into use. Work is progressing well with 1,527 properties already completed. All efforts are now being made by local authorities to refurbish and allocate the other homes.

My Department will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that as many vacant local authority homes as possible are refurbished and allocated this year. Final figures and the breakdown across each funding stream for the return of vacant units in relation to 2020 will be availabe in early 2021 and full details will be made available at that point.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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127. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the original loan amount and the outstanding loan repayments due by local authorities for loans received between 2008 and 2010, in tabular form. [34453/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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A significant change to local government structures took place in 2014 when town and borough councils were amalgamated with their county authorities. Information on borrowings sanctioned between 2008 and 2010 to each of the 88 local authorities is not readily available and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.

The table below gives an indication of the level of new loans for the relevant years for the 88 authorities combined, along with the level of repayments due for the years in question.

In addition, the Local Government Audit Service undertakes an annual audit of the annual financial statements of each local authority. An overview of its findings is available at the following link:

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