I propose to take Questions Nos. 644, 673, 678 and 679 together.
Detailed information on the number of local authority houses completed or acquired in 2004 and for the first six months of 2005 is available in the quarterly and annual housing statistics bulletins published by my Department, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on the Department's website at www.environ.ie. It is anticipated local authorities will complete or acquire approximately 5,500 units in 2005 including completions under various regeneration programmes. It is also expected the voluntary sector will complete 1,600 units in 2005. Detailed information on an individual local authority basis will be available in due course in the 2005 annual housing statistics bulletin.
The number of houses completed or acquired by the three local authorities in County Kildare for the first six months of 2005 is set out in the following table:
Local Authority
|
Houses completed/ acquired to end June, 2005
|
Kildare County Council
|
23
|
Athy Town Council
|
7
|
Naas Town Council
|
0
|
These figures for Kildare local authorities do not include casual vacancies which arise from time to time and are let to households on the waiting lists. In addition, 357 housing units were under construction by both the Kildare local authorities and voluntary bodies at the end of June.
I am confident the Government has put in place a number of new arrangements to facilitate the delivery of strong programmes of social and affordable housing. In consultation with my Department, local authorities have developed five-year action plans for their social and affordable housing programmes covering the period to 2008. The preparation of these plans has improved the identification of priority needs and will help to ensure a more coherent and co-ordinated response across all housing services. They also provided an overview of delivery by a range of providers — local authorities, voluntary and co-operative housing bodies and the private sector, through Part V and public private partnership arrangements.
A total of €2 billion is being made available for housing programmes in 2005 to further increase the output of social and affordable housing. It is anticipated that total social housing provision in 2005, including new local authority housing, vacancies arising in existing houses and output under other social housing measures, will meet the needs of in excess of 13,000 households.