Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2015
554. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money that has been allocated in 2015 to approved housing bodies; and the details of the proposed developments. [17638/15]
View answerFunding to approved housing bodies is allocated to them on the basis of proposals they make in respect of social housing provision which have been approved by local authorities and my Department. These proposals must be viable, meet housing need and represent value for money.
Under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme, approved housing bodies are already implementing projects for the construction and/or acquisition of social housing to meet the needs of people with special needs, which were approved in May 2014; details of those projects are available on my Department's website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,38066,en.docx
Approved housing bodies were recently invited to submit further proposals under the Capital Assistance Scheme, in line with the increased targets set under the Social Housing Strategy. These proposals will now be assessed by my Department and project approvals, where appropriate, will be issued to the local authorities and approved housing bodies. This year over €70 million has been made available for the advancement of projects under the Capital Assistance Scheme, of which €5.5 million will be self-funded by certain local authorities through local property tax receipts.
Under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), both local authorities and approved housing bodies can submit proposals for approval to my Department throughout the year. SHCEP is a national fund without individual local authority or approved housing body funding allocations.
