Noel Dempsey
Question:103 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment the projected housing needs for each local authority for the next five, ten and 15 years. [6811/95]
Written Answers. - Local Authority Housing.
In general, local authorities do not make projections of the kind referred to. They are, however, obliged by section 9 of the Housing Act, 1988 to carry out assessments of existing needs at least every three years. The last such assessments were carried out in March 1993 and details are published in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletin for 1993, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
The next assessments are due to be carried out not later than March 1996. The departmental guidelines for the assessments will be reviewed in the light of the findings of the Economic and Social Research Institute study of housing needs which has been commissioned by my Department. This study should also assist in predicting future needs, as one of its objectives is to identify trends and the factors giving rise to them.