Conor Lenihan
Question:334 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his view on rural resettlement and the contribution it can make to alleviating the housing crisis. [22835/98]
Written Answers. - Rural Resettlement Scheme.
Conor Lenihan
Question:335 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of people housed under the rural resettlement programme. [22836/98]
Conor Lenihan
Question:336 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has satisfied himself with the rate of involvement with the rural resettlement programme; and the plans, if any, he has to expand it further in view of the housing crisis. [22837/98]
Conor Lenihan
Question:337 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of people who have applied and are on waiting lists under the rural resettlement programme. [22838/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 334, 335, 336 and 337 together.
I fully support the aims of Rural Resettlement Ireland Ltd., RRI. Since 1992 my Department has approved grants totalling £347,000 towards the administrative and general expenses of RRI in respect of their housing related activities, including £67,000 this year.
Recognising the contribution that rural resettlement can make to meeting social housing needs my Department has agreed that housing authorities may make a grant of £1,000 to RRI in respect of each dwelling returned to the authority by a tenant moving to a rural area under the RRI programme.
RRI has been granted approved body status for the purposes of the voluntary housing capital assistance and rental subsidy schemes. Households moving under the RRI programme may also be elibible for local authority house purchase loans or the shared ownership scheme, and the deposit requirement under the latter scheme has been eased in these cases at the request of RRI. In addition the mortgage allowance and improvement works-in-lieu schemes can be used to assist families wishing to resettle in a rural area.
A resettlement mortgage jointly funded through the local authority, by the housing finance agency, Bank of Ireland and RRI was introduced in July 1996. This mortgage assists qualifying families to resettle permanently by purchasing and restoring, where necessary, existing houses.
A pilot rural resettlement scheme providing for the building or acquisition by local authorities of 40 houses in Counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Roscommon was notified to the county councils in May 1997. An additional 40 "starts" were allocated in 1998 and the scheme was extended to include Cork (North), Donegal, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Offaly, Sligo and Tipperary (North) county councils.
I understand that RRI has resettled approximately 350 families using the various measures available to them to assist their resettlement programme. Information on the number of families seeking resettlement is not available in my Department as the programme is administered by RRI.
A working group involving my Department, RRI and local authorities has been established recently to assess the potential of a joint RRI/Irish Farmers Association resettlement proposal that my Department would fund a pilot programme of special grants aimed at restoring derelict houses owned by farmers for occupation by families resettling under the RRI programme.