Written answers

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Local Authorities

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the review into the housing adaption and housing aid local authority grants will be carried out; if the review will include the amounts local authorities can allocate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27584/21]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The grants include the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, which are 80% funded by my Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. Local authorities receive an overall allocation, with the responsibility for the apportionment between the three schemes being a matter for each authority.

My Department will begin the review of the existing grant limits and income thresholds applicable to the grants this year with a view to finalisation as quickly as practicable.

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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254. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authorities have the discretion to allocate a fixed price for the replacement of windows or doors under the housing aid grant; if this figure is set by his Department given that the total figure for a grant is €8,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27585/21]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities are responsible for the detailed administration of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme, including the assessment, approval and payment of grants to applicants under the various measures.

Guidance issued by my Department recommends local authorities assemble a schedule of standard costs for each element of works available for funding under the Housing Aid for Older People Scheme, including the replacement of windows and doors. It is also recommended that local authorities should review their schedule of standardised cost on a twice yearly basis using the services of a Quantity Surveyor. The standardisation of costs is intended to improve consistency and have a cost stabilisation effect on grant levels in each local authority area. Recognising however that homes differ local authorities can, up to the €8,000 overall grant cap, approve a grant in excess of their own standard costings if the local authority feels a higher cost is justified.

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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255. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of leases that Kildare County Council has entered into for the provision of housing in the county over the past three years; the number of houses these leases involved; the location of each within the county; the cost of these leases.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27586/21]

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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256. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of leases that Kildare County Council has signed up for social housing that are not yet occupied; the location of these leases; the number of houses; the cost of these houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27587/21]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together.

My Department publishes comprehensive statistics on a quarterly basis on all social housing delivery activity, including leasing delivery statistics by local authority. These statistics are published on my Department's website and are available at the following link - www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

Funding for leasing projects is provided for under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP). This Programme supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the long term leasing of houses and apartments from private owners and Approved Housing Bodies.

At end 2020, a total of 273 leased properties were supported under SHCEP across all leasing delivery programmes in Kildare County Council. A breakdown of the total number of leased dwellings by lease type for each year 2018 to 2020 is set out in Table 1 below.

Details of the annual cost of each lease type in each year from 2018 to 2020 is set out in Table 2 below.

Data relating to the tenanting and allocations of dwellings is not held by my Department and is a matter for the local authority.

Table 1: Kildare County Council, Leasing Year End Figures 2018 to 2020.

Table 2: Kildare County Council, Leasing Spend - 2018 to 2020.

Scheme 2018 2019 2020
AHB MTR €213,891 €354,325 €416,876
AHB Private Lease €1,092,000 €1,257,571 €1,176,831
LA Direct €102,296 €184,102 €437,804
Private MTR €0 €0 €16,213
RLS €0 €8,159 €5,760
Unsold Affordables €168,528 €160,964 €160,524
Total €1,576,715 €1,965,121 €2,214,008

All data is based on local authority claims for operational agreements recorded on the Department's SHCEP financial management system. Any variations in data between operational figures and total output under leasing delivery streams may be due to the time lag in the submission of claims to my Department in respect of new claims after delivery.

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