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Thursday, 26 Jun 2014

Written Answers Nos. 150-158

Irish Water Staff

Questions (150, 151)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

150. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the total number of whole time equivalent staff for each local authority on this date in 2009 to 2013, inclusive, and at present; if he will indicate in the same table the total number of staff from each local authority who have transferred to Irish Water, including the numbers on secondment and the numbers who are full employees of Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27774/14]

View answer

Written answers

My Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. The number of staff employed by each local authority at the end of each year since 2009 is set out in the table below on a whole time equivalent basis (WTE). The most recent quarterly data collected at the end of March 2014 are also included. From 2013, staff numbers for the combined local authorities of Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council are returned by Limerick City Council. The 2008 and 2009 figures include Regional Authority.

Staffing arrangements within Irish Water are an operational matter for the company and one in which I have no function. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water may appoint staff on terms and conditions as it may from time to time determine. Accordingly, the numbers of staff will depend on the organisational needs of Irish Water and its available budget. I understand from data supplied by Irish Water to my Department that 478 staff have been recruited up to 6 June 2014; 147 have been recruited from local authorities, 80 from Bord Gáis, 5 from my Department, with the remaining 246 recruited externally.

LOCAL AUTHORITY

December 2009 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

December 2010 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

December 2011 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

December 2012 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

December 2013 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

March 2014 Quarterly Return (Total WTE)

Cork City

1,420.00

1,374.00

1,336.00

1,272.42

1,247.02

1,238.02

Dublin City

6,480.45

6,298.30

6,072.35

5,772.70

5,570.75

5,539.85

Galway City

487.50

442.80

438.34

435.33

419.86

411.73

Limerick City

528.30

485.41

465.14

443.54

1,035.89

1,013.60

Waterford City

410.32

379.93

367.09

344.18

335.58

333.37

Carlow

331.00

297.24

285.41

276.09

265.37

263.77

Cavan

446.35

434.09

416.30

380.90

370.10

370.20

Clare

828.36

810.19

785.50

750.98

749.88

735

Cork County

2,364.37

2,255.16

2,184.11

2,088.19

2,020.87

1,990.29

Donegal

1,007.86

999.11

959.14

911.00

873.31

856.17

Dún Laoghaire / Rathdown (DLR)

1,195.90

1,143.40

1,063.60

1,028.30

994.90

976.80

Fingal

1,490.39

1,441.90

1,391.90

1,330.70

1,296.33

1,284.22

Galway

934.27

846.87

811.61

770.28

746.02

742.78

Kerry

1,225.29

1,194.63

1,165.77

1,119.56

1,101.61

1,103.25

Kildare

946.50

925.40

880.90

843.62

815.40

800

Kilkenny

568.04

545.24

529.09

507.46

494.02

501.22

Laois

405.50

392.79

368.88

342.70

341.93

343.17

Leitrim

302.50

294.85

279.13

266.15

258.98

256.72

Limerick

738.60

686.38

656.65

619.33

0.00

0.00

Longford

330.20

306.01

299.94

289.75

289.80

283.95

Louth

691.90

674.64

652.64

652.51

634.98

632.78

Mayo

1,177.80

1,103.65

1,061.50

1,000.53

963.73

945.73

Meath

702.58

668.82

640.64

623.58

611.56

612.59

Monaghan

433.99

412.72

404.69

385.05

369.83

362.07

Offaly

478.00

418.50

399.00

388.60

379.70

376.20

Roscommon

550.50

487.12

461.07

434.80

414.59

415.34

Sligo

529.92

510.45

488.74

453.98

429.28

425.75

South Dublin

1,402.55

1,344.70

1,277.60

1,176.47

1,098.79

1,091.01

Tipperary North

504.22

515.57

468.83

450.36

447.85

467

Tipperary South

654.30

651.10

632.26

606.31

576.53

566.09

Waterford

565.50

503.61

476.00

447.06

446.06

438.06

Westmeath

487.92

480.43

462.79

447.26

431.59

428.32

Wexford

804.51

788.38

765.76

723.60

715.65

708.27

Wicklow

827.25

789.45

747.05

716.65

709.65

705.65

OVERALL TOTAL

32,252.64

30,902.84

29,695.42

28,299.94

27,457.41

27,218.97

Catherine Murphy

Question:

151. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the total breakdown of general purpose grants allocated to each local authority in 2009 to 2013, inclusive, and in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27775/14]

View answer

General purpose grants are paid from the Local Government Fund and are my Department’s contribution towards meeting the cost to local authorities of providing a reasonable level of services to their customers.

The following table details the general purpose grant allocations from the Local Government Fund to all local authorities from 2009 to 2013.

-

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

-

Local Authority

Carlow County Council

11,910,119

11,331,276

10,128,725

8,532,829

8,560,762

50,463,711

Cavan County Council

18,832,045

18,245,262

16,549,414

14,200,854

14,123,740

81,951,315

Clare County Council

14,883,494

13,986,912

12,736,073

10,176,044

10,072,651

61,855,174

Cork County Council

51,707,370

48,353,652

42,689,885

33,495,626

32,048,612

208,295,145

Donegal County Council

40,140,417

38,913,388

36,345,399

30,945,838

30,840,363

177,185,405

Fingal County Council

30,404,698

29,799,877

26,267,018

20,455,071

19,619,590

126,546,254

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

37,165,016

34,624,434

31,522,005

25,780,316

24,772,291

153,864,062

Galway County Council

36,888,227

36,092,172

32,835,625

28,105,841

27,400,744

161,322,609

Kerry County Council

26,457,145

25,572,631

23,238,216

19,005,401

18,374,432

112,647,825

Kildare County Council

25,754,427

25,532,785

23,924,053

20,127,482

20,634,229

115,972,976

Kilkenny County Council

20,020,063

19,334,743

17,527,581

15,113,016

15,105,892

87,101,295

Laois County Council

17,580,214

16,823,589

15,143,352

13,189,788

13,070,064

75,807,007

Leitrim County Council

14,820,652

14,489,435

13,479,217

11,809,261

11,952,743

66,551,308

Limerick County Council

24,864,456

23,724,090

21,355,645

17,683,768

17,668,930

105,296,889

Longford County Council

14,118,480

13,856,743

12,849,645

11,252,795

11,488,728

63,566,391

Louth County Council

12,725,378

12,118,470

10,914,165

9,130,490

9,044,372

53,932,875

Mayo County Council

36,586,871

35,180,309

32,135,562

27,800,750

27,650,043

159,353,535

Meath County Council

27,601,149

27,377,684

25,553,557

21,684,996

21,251,612

123,468,998

Monaghan County Council

15,094,413

14,737,177

13,648,138

11,902,168

11,968,784

67,350,680

Tipperary North County Council

18,630,156

18,005,785

16,373,536

14,267,841

14,504,742

81,782,060

Offaly County Council

15,704,327

15,388,672

14,139,586

12,164,815

12,095,491

69,492,891

Roscommon County Council

21,065,007

20,110,463

18,490,254

15,967,965

15,828,208

91,461,897

Sligo County Council

16,997,791

16,356,043

15,314,229

13,553,783

13,584,307

75,806,153

South Dublin County Council

24,676,357

24,289,702

21,709,971

16,963,904

16,285,348

103,925,282

Tipperary South County Council

22,788,742

22,128,379

20,211,960

17,472,862

17,302,006

99,903,949

Waterford County Council

22,059,029

21,990,654

20,583,798

17,888,261

18,176,169

100,697,911

Westmeath County Council

20,625,403

20,003,602

18,494,866

16,016,846

16,055,537

91,196,254

Wexford County Council

21,282,429

20,755,993

19,259,881

16,229,752

15,912,433

93,440,488

Wicklow County Council

19,922,275

19,219,558

17,502,198

14,625,057

14,357,641

85,626,729

Cork City Council

25,764,998

25,014,462

22,940,522

17,265,785

16,612,544

107,598,311

Dublin City Council

94,709,663

88,769,969

78,722,867

54,805,761

52,613,531

369,621,791

Galway City Council

8,830,378

8,512,430

7,534,888

5,990,156

5,750,549

36,618,401

Limerick City Council

11,050,841

10,595,040

9,638,920

7,968,166

8,264,861

47,517,828

Waterford City Council

8,064,061

7,564,315

6,713,415

5,223,860

5,415,345

32,980,996

Clonmel Borough Council

3,295,919

3,115,507

2,785,896

2,353,114

2,235,458

13,785,894

Drogheda Borough Council

4,688,795

4,434,266

3,966,978

3,208,084

3,047,680

19,345,803

Kilkenny Borough Council

1,893,103

1,766,873

1,560,328

1,266,584

1,203,255

7,690,143

Sligo Borough Council

3,142,285

2,927,408

2,580,497

2,105,833

2,000,541

12,756,564

Wexford Borough Council

2,348,994

2,199,185

1,948,097

1,773,200

1,684,540

9,954,016

Arklow Town Council

1,634,797

1,587,276

1,455,760

1,264,178

1,200,969

7,142,980

Athlone Town Council

1,917,374

1,793,563

1,587,448

1,296,281

1,231,467

7,826,133

Athy Town Council

767,623

749,251

690,500

571,629

543,047

3,322,050

Ballina Town Council

1,632,670

1,580,583

1,445,712

1,273,025

1,209,373

7,141,363

Ballinasloe Town Council

920,181

878,744

793,526

679,194

645,234

3,916,879

Birr Town Council

817,077

780,485

704,969

621,693

590,609

3,514,833

Bray Town Council

4,531,181

4,284,234

3,831,912

3,303,940

3,138,743

19,090,010

Buncrana Town Council

980,244

913,089

804,777

701,776

666,687

4,066,573

Bundoran Town Council

601,052

559,962

493,613

425,621

404,340

2,484,588

Carlow Town Council

1,831,382

1,721,237

1,530,546

1,332,619

1,265,988

7,681,772

Carrickmacross Town Council

605,674

586,800

535,346

466,229

442,918

2,636,967

Carrick-on-Suir Town Council

1,164,428

1,139,383

1,047,814

905,503

860,228

5,117,356

Cashel Town Council

684,703

655,338

593,045

516,446

490,624

2,940,156

Castlebar Town Council

1,037,375

966,468

851,964

730,023

693,522

4,279,352

Castleblayney Town Council

496,043

469,170

419,775

361,631

343,549

2,090,168

Cavan Town Council

867,812

811,835

718,591

654,077

621,373

3,673,688

Clonakilty Town Council

626,151

588,921

521,171

474,381

450,662

2,661,286

Clones Town Council

583,122

570,359

524,434

464,307

441,092

2,583,314

Cobh Town Council

1,254,730

1,177,961

1,046,319

952,382

904,763

5,336,155

Dundalk Town Council

5,289,816

4,961,900

4,403,659

3,589,814

3,410,323

21,655,512

Dungarvan Town Council

1,037,498

966,575

852,052

708,731

673,294

4,238,150

Ennis Town Council

2,461,593

2,305,693

2,043,399

1,710,714

1,625,178

10,146,577

Enniscorthy Town Council

1,235,578

1,151,903

1,016,035

924,817

878,576

5,206,909

Fermoy Town Council

874,009

818,970

726,081

660,894

627,850

3,707,804

Kells Town Council

502,483

473,188

421,572

361,427

343,356

2,102,026

Killarney Town Council

1,865,408

1,778,486

1,603,506

1,317,649

1,251,767

7,816,816

Kilrush Town Council

647,720

620,402

559,419

485,747

461,460

2,774,748

Kinsale Town Council

419,623

391,048

344,812

313,856

298,163

1,767,502

Letterkenny Town Council

1,176,732

1,096,274

966,369

796,266

756,453

4,792,094

Listowel Town Council

795,421

748,119

665,706

562,011

533,911

3,305,168

Longford Town Council

1,232,768

1,148,502

1,012,428

873,855

830,162

5,097,715

Macroom Town Council

629,483

591,359

525,612

478,423

454,502

2,679,379

Mallow Town Council

1,132,311

1,068,192

951,776

866,327

823,011

4,841,617

Midleton Town Council

572,789

546,739

486,711

443,015

420,864

2,470,118

Monaghan Town Council

1,184,794

1,105,999

976,889

828,489

787,065

4,883,236

Naas Town Council

1,484,461

1,459,370

1,336,377

1,123,654

1,067,472

6,471,334

Navan Town Council

582,061

545,635

483,948

392,283

472,669

2,476,596

Nenagh Town Council

1,140,538

1,074,375

957,471

847,980

805,581

4,825,945

New Ross Town Council

987,575

953,252

857,575

780,583

741,554

4,320,539

Skibbereen Town Council

450,894

420,067

370,292

337,047

320,195

1,898,495

Templemore Town Council

658,712

633,782

576,386

505,123

479,867

2,853,870

Thurles Town Council

1,014,871

963,441

865,088

729,707

693,222

4,266,329

Tipperary Town Council

871,488

829,034

745,880

630,993

599,444

3,676,839

Tralee Town Council

3,280,851

3,056,595

2,694,458

2,188,225

2,078,813

13,298,942

Trim Town Council

582,432

549,878

491,118

426,006

404,706

2,454,140

Tullamore Town Council

1,324,142

1,235,028

1,089,931

924,856

878,613

5,452,570

Westport Town Council

859,045

800,324

705,501

611,929

581,332

3,558,131

Wicklow Town Council

1,648,281

1,557,309

1,391,457

1,202,037

1,141,936

6,941,020

Youghal Town Council

1,163,499

1,090,968

965,305

878,642

834,709

4,933,123

Total

905,155,682

870,000,001

789,999,997

650,999,998

640,000,004

The amount allocated to local authorities from the Local Government Fund for general purpose grants in 2014 is €282 m; this figure recognises the removal of water related costs from local authorities to Irish Water in 2014 and the individual authority allocations are, therefore, not directly comparable to previous years. The following table details the proposed general purpose grant allocations from the Local Government Fund to local authorities in 2014 (the allocations to County Councils are “county at large” allocations in respect of the County Council and any Town Councils within the county).

-

2014

Local Authority

Carlow County Council

5,352,469

Cavan County Council

8,458,415

Clare County Council

2,646,284

Cork County Council

2,951,435

Donegal County Council

22,720,760

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

5,724,579

Fingal County Council

454,714

Galway County Council

12,506,381

Kerry County Council

11,043,837

Kildare County Council

9,686,924

Kilkenny County Council

9,356,019

Laois County Council

7,631,324

Leitrim County Council

8,282,319

Limerick County Council

6,175,333

Longford County Council

8,119,493

Louth County Council

8,243,835

Mayo County Council

17,492,594

Meath County Council

8,799,199

Monaghan County Council

10,247,882

North Tipperary County Council

9,832,046

Offaly County Council

6,663,642

Roscommon County Council

9,107,439

Sligo County Council

9 ,993,352

South Dublin County Council

923,906

South Tipperary County Council

12,923,064

Waterford County Council

12,125,219

Westmeath County Council

10,115,479

Wexford County Council

11,888,576

Wicklow County Council

6,846,310

Cork City Council

8,544,374

Dublin City Council

2,667,330

Galway City Council

1,626,429

Limerick City Council

8,449,826

Waterford City Council

4,399,212

Total

282,000,000

Irish Water Staff

Questions (152, 154, 160)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

152. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form of all staff employed at Irish Water indicating numbers at each grade, the numbers in each department, the previous employment in each department, that is, those originating from the private sector or from a specified Department or local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27789/14]

View answer

Catherine Murphy

Question:

154. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate the pension liability for all staff working at Irish Water lies, whether employed directly or on secondment; the amount that has been budgeted for pension liabilities in Irish Water’s initial staffing costs; the amount that is expected to be paid from local authorities and/or Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27796/14]

View answer

Catherine Murphy

Question:

160. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to detail the total sums paid out by Irish Water to date to external contractors, listing the individual contract in each case, including the name of the contractor, the total sum agreed and the purpose of the contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27805/14]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 152, 154 and 160 together.

Staffing arrangements within Irish Water is an operational matter for the company and one in which I have no function. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water may appoint staff on terms and conditions as it may from time to time determine. Accordingly, the numbers of staff will depend on the organisational needs of Irish Water and its available budget. I understand from data supplied by the utility to my Department that 485 staff have been recruited up to 25 June 2014; 146 have been recruited from local authorities, 82 from Bord Gáis, 5 from my Department with the remaining 252 recruited externally.

Section 18A of the Water Services Act 2013, as inserted by section 47 of the Gas Regulation Act 2013, governs the establishment of Irish Water pension schemes. The details of the pension schemes are currently being finalised by the utility in conjunction with my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The intention is that pension liabilities of former public sector staff recruited by Irish Water in relation to prior service with the Department and local authorities will not be crystallised liabilities on the balance sheet of the utility; the existing pension liabilities for such service will only become a cost as the employees concerned actually retire.

In terms of external contractors, I understand from Irish Water that some €64.6 million has been expended on external service providers. Decisions on specific operational expenditure are a matter for the company and I have no role in that regard. However, costs incurred by Irish Water will be examined by the Commission for Energy Regulation as an integral element of the independent economic regulation of Irish Water.

Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that it has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via an email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.

Electromagnetic Fields Studies

Questions (153, 155)

Martin Heydon

Question:

153. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on a decision to engage expert assistance to review and report on international developments since 2007 on any potential health effects of electro-magnetic fields emanating from transmission grid infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27792/14]

View answer

Written answers

The issue of the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields was the subject of an Expert Group Report commissioned by the Government and published in March 2007. This Report, entitled Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, is available for download on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/EnvironmentalRadiation/.

My Department is currently commissioning a study on international developments in non-ionising radiation (NIR) and electromagnetic fields (EMF) research since the publication of the 2007 Report. The study will also examine how the issue of NIR/EMF is dealt with in other jurisdictions. A number of national and international experts were invited to submit proposals to undertake this work and I expect that a contract will be awarded in the coming weeks , with a view to completing the study later this year.

The results of this study will be used by a Steering Committee, convened and chaired by my Department, to make specific proposals relating to the future management of these matters including, inter alia, any consequent legislative amendments and provision of appropriate technical expertise and associated resources.

Question No. 154 answered with Question No. 152.

Terence Flanagan

Question:

155. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to explain the reason for the delay in the transfer of units earmarked for social housing from the National Asset Management Agency to local authorities; his plans is to speed up the process; the targets for the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27798/14]

View answer

My Department continues to work closely with NAMA, the Housing Agency, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in relation to the delivery of social housing.

To date, NAMA has identified over 4,653 residential properties controlled by its debtors and receivers under this initiative as being potentially available for social housing. Of this figure, 1,607 units were in areas where the local authority had no demand or where properties were not considered suitable for social housing by the local authority for sustainable communities’ reasons, such as unsuitable tenure mix. A further 1,095 units originally identified as available were subsequently discovered by NAMA to be unavailable as the units had already been sold or leased by their debtor in accordance with their strategy for repaying their debt, or became unavailable when the loans associated with these properties were sold and NAMA no longer held an interest. Of the total properties originally identified, 1,951 properties are available, have a confirmed demand and are considered suitable for social housing.

Of the 1,951 available and confirmed demand properties, 684 have been delivered for Social Housing use at the end of Q1 2014. This figure includes 518 complete and operational units and 166 units where contracts have been signed and final completion works were under way at that point. A further 451 properties are considered as being active transactions whereby terms are agreed or active negotiation is on-going by all parties concerned or where a detailed appraisal (i.e. determining the most likely delivery mechanism) is being carried out. An additional 702 properties are to be further appraised - signalling likely delivery in 2015 and 2016.

While it is noted and accepted that delivery was slow within the early stages of collaboration, it is important to note that the process engaged in was novel to all parties concerned and with this came the added complexity of getting agreement from multiple parties operating within an environment subject to a range of legal and financial constraints. Within this context significant progress has been made in respect of delivery and in particular with the introduction of the National Asset Residential Property Services Limited (NARPSL) special purpose vehicle (SPV) of NAMA. The pace of delivery has increased and the process is now operating well as evidenced by the units delivered to date.

The process of reviewing units previously deemed unsuitable is on-going. NAMA have been requested to identify the units that are still available and Local Authorities, particularly those in high demand areas, are reviewing the list of NAMA properties to see if innovative solutions can be found in order to bring units into use that were previously not considered suitable for sustainable communities reasons. My Department and NAMA are also working together to find ways to retain, contractually or otherwise, the units currently identified as having a confirmed demand to avoid their potential loss through portfolio sale. Along with the on-going review of existing properties by local authorities, a greater focus on building out of incomplete units will be required in order to maximise delivery through this process.

My Department and NAMA have set a delivery target of 500 units in 2014, an ambitious target which we are confident will be met and which will bring overall delivery of units from this initiative to 1 ,100 by year end.

Local Authority Housing Waiting Lists

Questions (156)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

156. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to set out his plans to tackle social housing lists; his views on the size of these lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27799/14]

View answer

Written answers

The results of the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments carried out in 2013 showed that there were 89,872 households on local authority waiting lists as at 7 May 2013 and these results are available on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,34857,en.pdf.

The 2013 figure represents a decrease of 9% on the 98,318 households recorded under the previous summary assessment carried out as at 31 March 2011. The 2013 figures are the most up-to-date figures available on waiting list numbers, which are subject to on-going fluctuation due to households being allocated housing and new households applying for housing support.  However, the 2013 results cannot be directly compared to previous results given that this latest summary employed different methodologies and was the first to be carried out under the 2011 Social Housing Assessment Regulations.

The Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing needs through a variety of mechanisms. In terms of the delivery of social housing, the main focus in terms of supports provided by Government will be on meeting the most acute needs – the housing support needs of those unable to provide for their accommodation from own resources.

On 14 May 2014, the Government published Construction 2020 – A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector. The Strategy contains 75 Actions in total and my Department, together with the Housing Agency, will be involved in the delivery of over 30 of those. Under Action 8 of Construction 2020, a Social Housing Strategy is to be published by Q3 2014; to assist in its development, the Housing Agency has invited submissions by 31 July 2014. Further information is available at the following weblink: http://www.housing.ie/News/Current-News/Invitation-for-Submissions-Preparation-of-a-Social.aspx.

It is clear that the present and foreseeable economic context in which we must address social housing need is such that innovative, and indeed challenging, solutions must be found which will harness new funding streams. While the local authorities will continue to have the lead role in addressing social housing need, in their capacity as statutory housing authorities, the growing role of the not-for-profit sector, as represented by the Approved Housing Bodies, and other potential investors must also be further developed.

My intention is that the Strategy will be both challenging and innovative, and will provide the basis for an enhanced approach to social housing provision in Ireland. It will contain clear measurable actions that are to be taken to increase the supply of social housing and, most importantly, reduce the number of people on waiting lists over the next five years.

With the benefit of the recent injection of €50m for social housing from the Government’s May 2014 stimulus announcement, on top of the original housing budget of some €587m, I now expect the final output across all social housing programmes for 2014 to be in the region of 6,000 new housing units. The number and method of delivery of social housing units in future years will be determined in the course of the annual Estimates process and will be informed by the Social Housing Strategy now in preparation.

Homeless Accommodation Provision

Questions (157)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

157. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to outline his plans to tackle homelessness; his views on the size of the list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27800/14]

View answer

Written answers

My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities and the purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988.

In February 2013, I published the Government’s Homelessness Policy Statement in which the aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. The statement emphasises a housing-led approach which is about accessing permanent housing as the primary response to all forms of homelessness. The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring sustainable tenancies and ending long-term homelessness.

On 20 May 2014, I published the Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness in which the Government's approach to delivery on its objective of ending involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. A copy of this plan is available on my Department's website,

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/SpecialNeeds/HomelessPeople/.

This plan sets out a range of measures to secure a ring-fenced supply of accommodation to house homeless households within the next three years and mobilise the necessary supports. Progress in implementing the plan will be reported quarterly through the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy.

Question No. 158 answered with Question No. 143.
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