asked the Minister for Justice the number of (1) houses and (2) flats provided for the Garda as married quarters by (a) his Department, (b) the Office of Public Works, (c) the National Building Agency or (d) any other bodies; the amount of the present stock of such accommodation which was built (a) before 1920 and between (b) 1920 to 1930, (c) 1930 to 1940, (d) 1940 to 1950, (e) 1950 to 1960, (f) 1960 to 1970 and (g) 1970 to 1980 and (h) in 1980 to date; the amount of rent charged for each category of dwelling; the number of gardaí who are married; the number of married gardaí awaiting accommodation; if an allowance is paid to gardaí who provide their own houses and, if so, the amount; and if any people other than gardaí, such as ex-members of the force, are still in official accommodation and, if so, the number.
Written Answers. - Garda Housing.
A total of 991 houses and 12 flats is at present provided as married quarters for members of the Garda Síochána. The National Building Agency provided 446 of the houses and the remaining accommodation was provided by the office of Public Works. All the National Building Agency Houses were constructed during the decade 1960-1970 and the Office of Public Works accommodation was constructed during the following periods: (a) before 1920, 105; (b) 1920-1930, 153; (c) 1930-1940, 70; (d) 1940-1950, 37; (e) 1950-1960, 32; (f) 1960-1970, 98; (g) 1970-1980, 58; (h) 1980 to date, 4.
The rent charged for the various types of married accommodation has been agreed with the Garda Representative Associations and depends on factors such as the rank of the member occupying the accommodation, the size of the dwelling, its structural condition, its amenities, and location whether or not it is attached to the garda station or detached. The rent payable at present in respect of married accommodation ranges from £7.05 per week to £2.35 per week.
Approximately 7,000 members of the Garda Síochána are married.
As applications are usually made by members for a specified house, when it becomes available, it is not possible to state exactly how many married gardaí are awaiting official accommodation but the Garda authorities estimate that the number is in the region of 30.
With regard to the payment of an allowance to gardaí who provide their own houses, I would refer the Deputy to the reply given to Deputy Keating on 27 November which referred to means of facilitating the purchasing of homes by members of the Garda Síochána. In addition, rent allowance of £741.43 per annum for married members and £556.07 per annum for single members is payable to all members of the Force up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent, irrespective of whether they occupy official accommodation.
At present, a total of 15 married quarters is occupied by people other than the Gardaí. In eight of these cases the quarters are occupied by ex-members of the Force and in the remaining seven they are occupied by the families of deceased members.