Vol. 452 No. 2
36 Mr. Flood asked the Minister for the Environment when he will provide a 100 per cent subsidy to local authorities for the management and maintenance of permanent halting sites for travellers as recommended in the interim report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community published in January 1994; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7151/95]
The management and maintenance of local authority housing, including travellers' halting sites provided by local authorities, are matters for the individual local authority. The cost is funded out of the authority's own resources including income from rent receipts, the rate support grant and part of the proceeds from the sale of local authority houses.
The interim progress report of the Task Force on the Travelling Community recommended, inter alia, that a 100 per cent subsidy be made available to local authorities for the management and maintenance of permanent halting sites. Several of the report's recommendations in relation to accommodation have been implemented; the special first-time house purchase grant for travellers has been doubled to £3,000, and funding for group housing schemes has been separated from funding for the general housing construction programme. The recommendation in relation to the maintenance and management of halting sites would have significant financial implications for the Exchequer but I will consider the matter further when the final report of the Task Force becomes available within the next few months.
