Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 April 2004
5 Mr. Morgan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will address the findings contained in the recent report of the Central Statistics Office in the 2002 census (details supplied) which shows that the number of local authority housing rented dwellings has declined in every census since 1961 and has hit an all time low of 88,000 or 6.9% of all housing units. [12367/04]
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The recent housing data report published by the Central Statistics Office, based on the replies to individual census returns for the 2002 census, indicated that the number of occupied rented local authority dwellings stood at 88,206 in 2002. This figure does not accord with local authorities' records which confirm that the number of occupied local authority dwellings at the end of 2002 was almost 105,000, compared with almost 103,000 dwellings in 2001.
The change in the proportion of total housing stock represented by local authority dwellings can be attributed to a number of factors, principally the record increases in the numbers of private houses built in recent years and to the success of the various tenant purchase schemes where local authority houses were sold to tenants. For example, in 1993 local authorities and voluntary bodies built or acquired 2,400 units and private housing output amounted to 19,300 units. In 2003, local authorities and voluntary bodies built or acquired 6,150 units and private housing output had increased to 62,650 units giving a total output of 68,800 units. In the past 20 years, more than 55,000 local authority houses were sold to tenants under various tenant purchase schemes.
The Government is conscious of the increased need for social housing and has responded by expanding social and affordable housing output. It is anticipated that total social housing output in 2004 will meet the needs of approximately 13,000 households, taking into account new local authority housing, vacancies arising in existing houses and output under other social housing measures. This compares with approximately 7,000 households in 1993.
The housing problem is now resolved because it was simply that the Central Statistics Office's figures were skewed while the local authorities' figures were correct. There is no problem in housing according to the Minister of State's reply. This seems bizarre. Is the Government not alarmed by the numbers on local authority housing waiting lists and that housing stock has fallen to an all time low? This is a clear indication of the failure of the Government's policy after seven years in office in addressing this issue. Last week's announcement by the Minister for more funding of social housing is simply an election stunt which will only provide for the construction of 5,000 houses.
The Chair facilitated Deputy Morgan by going back to his question. Can he facilitate the House by submitting questions to the Minister of State? The purpose of Question Time is to elicit information from him.
Does the Minister of State consider that last week's promise of 5,000 houses will have any impact on the 48,000 applicants on local authority housing waiting lists? This figure represents more than 130,000 people. This is an indication that the Government has no real intention of providing for the housing needs of these people, many of whom have been on waiting lists for as long as 16 years. The Minister talks about local authorities selling off their housing stock — that is fine as long as they replace it.
Will the Minister of State agree that a number of housing authorities are removing themselves from the whole area of social housing? Dublin City Council has announced it intends to do this within the next ten years, while other local authorities are not announcing it but doing it by stealth. Does the Minister have a view on this? Will he instruct them to deal with the responsibility of providing social housing to the 48,000 applicants, which adds up to more than 130,000 people, on the waiting lists?
The number of occupied local authority dwellings has gone up, although not by large amounts. Ten years ago the figure was 93,000; it has gone up each year and now stands at more than 104,000. In a ten-year period there has been an increase in the number of local authority houses of about 10,000. It is now just over the 100,000 mark.
A total of 55,000 tenants have become tenant purchasers over recent years. Many right-wing economists think this is a bad idea. I saw an article to this effect in the newspaper last week. In my own constituency many people bought houses in the late 1980s for £20,000 which are now worth six times that. I believe in the sale scheme. It does much good for communities when people who are working and have a few pounds in their pockets decide to buy their homes. The fact that so many people have done this in recent years is an indication that the economy is doing well and that people have been able to aspire to buying a home. When people buy a house they make a statement that they are putting down roots. This does a lot for the community.
The number of households on the waiting list at the last assessment was 48,000. That equates to 109,000 people — people work out the figures differently. A total of 32% of those households are single-person households and another 30% or so consist of lone parents with one child. The official figures are 48,000 households and 109,000 people.
Last week I announced the capital figures for local authority spending. This is done every year, sometimes earlier than this. This money is spent annually. It has nothing to do with anything that is coming up. Everybody knows that. The Deputy's comment was a cheap shot. We expect that this year the needs of about 13,000 households out of the 48,000 on the list will be met through the local authority and voluntary housing sectors, the latter of which is growing all the time. Some 1,700 units of accommodation are built in this sector every year. That is a substantial number.
Dublin City Council is considering innovative ways of changing the management style of the housing sector. Many of the housing associations provide better on-the-ground management. We have tried to move away from the time when local authorities built massive estates in green fields with no local management. I am sure we would all support this.
Can I ask a brief supplementary question?
Sorry, Deputy, we have gone well over the time allowed for this question.
