Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 February 2014
447. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of vacant units in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 11 and if any measures are being put in place for the local authority to buy or rent these for social housing. [9880/14]
View answer487. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the current status of Hampton Woods Lawn, St. Margaret's Road, Dublin 11. [9453/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 447 and 487 together.
The administration of issues relating to unfinished housing developments is a matter for the individual local authority involved. Each local authority has appointed an Unfinished Housing Development co-ordinator; contact details can be found at:
www.housing.ie/our-services/unfinished-housing-developments/local-authority-contacts.aspx .
“Resolving Unfinished Housing Developments: Annual Progress Report on Actions to Address Unfinished Housing Developments”, published in November 2013, appends a Summary Report of the 2013 National Housing Development Survey. The key findings of the survey include: a 56% decrease in the number of remaining unfinished developments and a 72% decrease in the number of vacant units since 2010. During the 12 months to November 2013, site resolution plans were fully implemented on 553 developments. The National Housing Development Survey 2013, which carries details of all unfinished housing developments, can be found on the Housing Agency website www.housing.ie.
Budget 2014 contains a special provision, in the form of a targeted €10m Special Resolution Fund (SRF), to assist further in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments. The SRF has been proposed to encourage the resolution of the remaining tranche of unfinished developments identified in the National Housing Development Survey 2013 and, particularly, those developments not likely to be resolved in the normal way through solely developer/owner/funder action because of the presence of specific financial barriers. It is envisaged that the SRF should be particularly targeted to address the remaining unfinished developments with residents living in them and, in particular, any developments that local authorities identified, for the purposes of the Local Property Tax waiver, as in a seriously problematic condition.
In December 2013, my Department wrote to local authorities seeking proposals for funding support under the SRF and the deadline for receipt of applications is 28 February 2014. Submissions will then be evaluated by my Department and funding allocations made to local authorities as soon as possible thereafter.
My Department will support SRF proposals capable of delivering significant and lasting impact in relation to the quality of the resolution process itself and improved conditions for residents. It is hoped that the SRF will enable very substantial progress to be made in resolving as many of the remaining unfinished developments as possible.
