Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 December 2015
199. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of applications received from Donegal County Council for social housing units under the Social Housing Strategy 2020; the number of applications made with respect to long-term voids and to new builds; the cost which these applications collectively represent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44365/15]
View answerSocial housing targets out to 2017 for all local authorities issued in April 2015. This also included funding allocations with, nationally, over €1.5 billion to be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by all local authorities. In the case of Donegal County Council, 507 is the target set for new social units under both Current and Capital-funded programmes for 2015-17, supported by €34.1 million in funding. Following on from the announcement of targets, in May and July this year I announced major social and voluntary housing construction and acquisition programmes, with almost half a billion euros of investment covering all 31 local authorities in delivering almost 3,000 housing units. Donegal County Council submitted capital appraisals in respect of a number of projects for which funding was approved, involving the delivery of 63 new social housing units an estimated cost of some €8.2 million. Full details of the project approvals are available on my Department’s website at the following links:http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm
I expect that capital appraisals in respect of further social housing units will be submitted to my Department by Donegal County Council and if sanctioned for funding, they are likely to be included in the next major announcement of approvals that I expect to make early in the New Year.
Apart from the new social housing units sanctioned for funding for Donegal as set out at the above links, the local authority is also working to acquire new social houses and bringing forward projects under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme, which are also part of its target for delivery out to 2017.
Donegal County Council has sought funding from my Department to return 154 vacant properties to use in 2015 and support for all these units will be provided. The exact cost involved will not be known until the work is completed. In 2014, Donegal County Council returned 167 vacant properties to use with funding support from my Department of €919,797.
