asked the Minister for Local Government if he will take the initiative in arranging a meeting of interested parties with a view to ensuring that immediate positive action be taken in order to provide housing accommodation in Dublin City for families living in overcrowded conditions who are at present without hope of obtaining houses owing to the dangerous building emergency.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing of Dublin Families.
44.
I have already discussed with representatives of Dublin Corporation the question of further increasing their housing output and there have been follow-up discussions between officers of my Department and of the Corporation. I have recently asked the Corporation for an up to date statement on the expansion of the building programme and the completion rates now projected.
45.
asked the Minister for Local Government how much time has now elapsed since the declaration of the dangerous building emergency by Dublin Corporation and the decision to rehouse only families from dangerous buildings; how many families from dangerous buildings have been rehoused since that date, and how many such families remain to be rehoused.
46.
asked the Minister for Local Government whether he has as yet any information as to when the present emergency housing situation in Dublin, whereby only families living in dangerous buildings are being rehoused, will be likely to come to an end.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 46 together. Normal priorities in the allocation of housing tenancies by Dublin Corporation were suspended with effect from the 14th June, 1963, in favour of persons requiring evacuation from dangerous buildings.
The number of families rehoused from dangerous buildings between 1st June and 5th December, 1963, was 759, including 87 single-person families.
At the latter date, 493 families, including 168 single-person families, were awaiting rehousing from dangerous buildings.
I am not in a position to say how long the Corporation will be obliged to concentrate on the housing of persons from dangerous buildings, but the complete suspension of the normal priorities has been modified by a recent decision of the Corporation, without prejudice to dangerous buildings cases, to make available five per cent of new dwellings in the Edenmore and Finglas areas to families living in seriously overcrowded conditions.
47.
asked the Minister for Local Government whether he has yet come to any decision in respect of the proposals submitted to him by the Dublin Corporation with regard to condemned or dangerous buildings; and, if not, if he will state when a decision can be reached, having regard to the urgency of the present housing emergency in Dublin City.
These proposals, which are intended primarily to give more effective powers to local authorities to close and prevent re-occupation of unfit or dangerous buildings, are being considered in connection with pending housing legislation.