Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Jun 2003

Vol. 569 No. 3

Written Answers. - Local Authority Housing.

Phil Hogan

Question:

406 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the financial demand made by Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Council in respect of their 2003 housing programmes; the dates of meetings held between officials of his Department and these local authorities to discuss the financial demand; the amount allocated by his Department subsequently; the percentage reduction in the final financial allocation sanctioned to each local authority, including Kilkenny, in his jurisdiction; if he will increase the allocation to Kilkenny County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17681/03]

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Cullen)

Local authorities indicated to my Department that they would require some €1 billion to meet what they estimated to be their funding requirements this year for their housing construction programmes. My Department considered that this level of demand overstated requirements for the current year, and the total amount of capital funding available this year to allocate to local authorities for their housing construction programmes was €700 million.

Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Council sought €6.5 million and €3.1 million respectively for their housing programmes this year. The amounts allocated to these authorities are set out in the following table.

Local Authority Housing Programme 2003 Capital Allocations

Local Authority	Housing Construction	TravellerAccommodation	Remedial Works	Total Housing
	€	€	€	€
Kilkenny County Council	3,400,000	150,000	Nil	3,550,000
Kilkenny Borough Council	800,000	Nil	800,000	1,600,000

The most recent meetings at official level between Kilkenny County Council and my Department took place on 25 February and 10 June. My Department has recently indicated to the council that it will facilitate the council's house building programme as much as possible this year and that it should be possible to accommodate the county council's requirements in the current year.