asked the Minister for Local Government (a) the amount sought by Nenagh Urban District Council, County Tipperary, for housing this year (b) the amount sanctioned by him and (c) the reason, if appropriate, why the request was not met in full.
Written Answers. - Nenagh Housing.
27.
(a) Nenagh Urban District Council sought a total of £329,515 in respect of their local authority housing construction programme in 1976, the amount being made up of:
|
£ |
|
|
Estimated outgoing debit balance on 31st December, 1975 |
60,781 |
|
Debit balance on forward land acquisition |
19,500 |
|
Estimated expenditure on completed schemes |
47,793 |
|
Estimated expenditure on schemes in progress |
51,441 |
|
Estimated expenditure on a proposed 40-house scheme |
150,000 |
|
329,515 |
(b) The housing authority's authorised expenditure on its 1976 programme is £141,000. This is the amount which my Department has assessed on the basis of available information as the authority's likely expenditure on its committed schemes, and includes full allowance for the debit balance at the end of 1975, but disregards, in accordance with standard practice, the expenditure of £19,500 on forward land acquisition.
(c) The circular letter, dated 27th February, 1976, which notified housing authorities of their capital allocations stated, inter alia, that the allocation included provision only for new work which is already at tender stage and in respect of which a genuine need has been established. An allocation in respect of new work was not made to Nenagh Urban District Council because the scheme shown in its claim for capital has not yet reached the tender stage.
However, as regards proposed work which had not reached the tender stage by the end of February last, the circular informed local authorities that it was the Minister's intention to review the level of expenditure and output on their programmes later in the year in order to determine if additional capital allocations could then be made for new work to be started in the last quarter of 1976.
The council's expenditure on the housing construction account up to 31st March, 1976, was £4,729.