Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1190.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the full details of the different streams of funding for local authorities and the areas in which this money can be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33425/24]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are entirely independent corporate entities having full responsibility under law for the performance of their functions and the discharge of their governance and other responsibilities. They provide in excess of 1,000 services on behalf of over 30 public bodies. Accordingly, the funding system for local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services, Local Property Tax as well as funding from Government Departments and other bodies. Central Government funding of local authorities similarly presents a complex picture, with transfers, both current and capital, coming from a wide range of Departments and Offices for a variety of purposes.

As regards the financial decision making and accountability of local authorities, it is the elected members of a local authority who have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which includes adopting the annual budget. Accordingly, it is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.

Further information on local authority income and expenditure is published annually by local authorities in their Annual Financial Statements (AFS), and generally can be found on their respective websites. My Department publishes a consolidated AFS publication compiled from the Audited Financial Statements produced by each local authority and this can be found on my Department’s website at the following link: .

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1191.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the full total of the spend by each local authority on housing maintenance; if all of this funding comes from rent collected in each local authority; if they have latitude to increase this figure or seek additional funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33426/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1192.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to estimate the full-year cost or savings from using direct labour for housing maintenance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33427/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1194.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has carried out any cost-benefit analyses of in-house maintenance versus outsourcing across all local authorities. [33429/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1191, 1192 and 1194 together.

The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to local authority owned homes are not routinely collated by my Department.

Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019.

Notwithstanding this, my Department provides annual funding support to local authorities under a number of local authority stock improvement programmes. Since 2020, €558.6m of Exchequer funding has been provided to support local authorities in their work in this area. The detailed administration of the programmes is a matter for each individual local authority.

As referenced in Housing for All, policy objective 20.7 my Department is working with relevant Departments and Local Authorities to move to a position where housing rents at Local Authority level is ring-fenced to ensure its retention for housing management and maintenance. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance to achieve this policy objective.

Further information on local authority income and expenditure is published annually by local authorities in their Annual Financial Statements (AFS), and generally can be found on their respective websites. My Department publishes a consolidated AFS publication compiled from the Audited Financial Statements produced by each local authority and this can be found on my Department’s website at the following link: .’