asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the serious housing situation in the Dublin region for people seeking housing accommodation from Dublin Corporation; if he is in a position to make an allocation of additional capital to Dublin Corporation to increase their housing output; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers . - Dublin Corporation Housing .
301.
: Following the Government's recent decision to increase the authorised expenditure on local authority housing for 1980 by £12 million, Dublin Corporation were notified on 17 September 1980, of an increase of £3 million in the capital allocation for their housing programme. This brought their allocation up to £35 million and represented about 31 per cent of the total overall authorised capital expenditure on local authority housing for 1980. This is the maximum amount that could be allocated having regard to the overall constraints in expenditure on capital works in 1980.
The latest progress figures available in the Department show that at the end of August 1980, a total of 883 houses have been completed by the corporation. Of the 2,030 houses in progress at that date it is expected that a further 650 will be completed by the end of the year bringing total completions for the year to about 1,550. Actual vacancies to the end of August were 786 and it is anticipated that about 400 more vacancies will arise by 31 December 1980. This will mean that the total number of dwellings available for letting in 1980 will be over 2,700 which compares favourably with a total of 2,562 in 1979.