Similarly, the outlook on local authority housing is encouraging. As a result of the very substantial capital provision of £208 million for 1983 the level of activity on the programme increased by up to 10 per cent over that of 1982. Although final figures are not yet available indications are that completions were up from 5,686 to about 6,200 with over 8,000 dwelling in progress at the end of the year. As for this year we expect that the very substantial allocation of £211 million will maintain last year's satisfactory level of activity, when account is taken of the current unit cost levels and the Department's recent guidelines on cost control.
The Government are acutely aware of the importance of the local authority housing programme in meeting the needs of those who cannot afford to house themselves. Deputies may be assured that the programme will continue to command a high priority.
As I said in my opening speech, the Government fully accept the need for improved legislation within which the problem of homelessness can be tackled more effectively. Deputy Molloy appears to be under the impression that this could be achieved by simply inserting another section in this Bill. However, I am afraid that this is an entirely unrealistic and over simplistic approach. As Deputies are aware, the Seanad is at present debating the Second Stage of Senator Brendan Ryan's Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill. Deputy Quinn in his capacity as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment made a considered and comprehensive contribution to that debate in which he conveyed clearly the Government's genuine concern for the plight of the homeless and outlined the action being taken to tackle the problem.
I want again to put on record here my own personal commitment to do something about the problem of homelessness and my determination to take all practicable steps, by legislation and otherwise, to alleviate the plight of homeless people in our society. I accept fully that the present legislation is not a satisfactory legal framework within which the problem of homelessness can effectively be tackled. It has become obvious that there is a pressing need for the overhaul of Part III of the 1966 Act and I can say that the formulation of better legislation in the whole area of public housing is now receiving priority attention in my Department. It is in this context that the Government's legislative proposals on the homeless will be developed. It would be totally inappropriate — not to say irresponsible — even to attempt to deal with this problem in a short Bill of the type now before the House.
In this area of legislation the need to maintain public confidence in housing allocations and to ensure that the housing that can be provided from the resources available is allocated fairly on the basis of objective and defensible criteria is of paramount importance.
Therefore, the preparation of new legislation is a task that must be approached with great care to ensure that whatever measures emerge retain the attributes I have mentioned and at the same time that they are sufficiently flexible and sensitive to the different kinds of housing need that exist.
Deputy Molloy contended that the present legislation excludes homeless persons from consideration in the letting of dwellings by housing authorities. The basis for this contention is not clear to me because under the 1966 Act a housing authority is entitled to let houses to all persons in need of housing accommodation and who cannot provide it from their own resources. Perhaps the problem lies with the schemes of letting priorities being operated by individual housing authorities. In fact, I think it should be acknowledged that local authorities have catered over the years for many families who have been rendered homeless for one reason or another.
In this context, it is worth recording that Dublin Corporation — the largest housing authority in the State — last year housed 151 families, 241 one-parent families, 155 couples and single persons, mostly senior citizens, all of whom were classified as homeless. The corporation have re-let to single people a number of small flats in various locations originally intended for the elderly but which subsequently became unsuitable for this purpose.
A number of Deputies called for improved co-operation and flexibility between housing authorities in the provision and letting of houses and in the arrangement of transfers. I fully endorse these sentiments and I will take the opportunity of exhorting authorities to this effect when circularising them after the enactment of this Bill.
The overriding objective of housing authorities must always be the provision of suitable housing in the quickest and most efficient way possible for those in the greatest need. This Bill will enable them to do this by giving them the freedom to enter into mutually advantageous arrangements for the building and letting of houses, transfers, etc, but in the final analysis the extent to which these powers are availed of is entirely at the discretion of the authorities at local level. It would be neither fruitful nor desirable that the Department should by legislation or otherwise attempt to coerce authorities into making arrangements of this nature. Since these provisions are entirely discretionary, it is difficult to appreciate Deputy Wallace's fears that this Bill may create bigger problems than those that already exist. The Bill will not affect the total number of persons seeking local authority housing one way or another, but to the extent that it is availed of by the authorities, it will permit a less compartmentalised approach to meeting the needs.
