Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 September 2022
55. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied with the support given to local authorities to ensure a swift response to social housing maintenance approaching the winter months. [47311/22]
View answerThe management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.
Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.
Notwithstanding the legal obligations on local authorities to manage and maintain their housing stock, my Department does provide annual funding to local authorities to support their work in this area across various programmes which include Voids, Energy Efficiency, Disabled Persons Grant and Regeneration. Since 2014, over €944 million of exchequer funding has been invested in these local authority housing stock improvement works which are detailed below.
|
Programme |
2014-2021 |
|
Voids |
€261 million |
|
Energy Efficiency |
€160.7 million |
|
DPGs |
€112 million |
|
Regeneration |
€411 million |
In 2022, my Department is providing funding support under the various stock improvement programmes as detailed below.
|
Programme |
2022 |
|
Voids |
€30 million |
|
Energy Efficiency |
€85 million |
|
DPGs |
€25 million |
|
Regeneration |
€50 million |
Given the very significant investment into the Programmes over recent years, particularly in the Voids programme in 2020 and again in 2021, local authorities should now be in a strong position to begin the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance.
To that end, my Department and local authorities are working to transition from a largely response and voids based approach to housing stock management and maintenance, to a planned maintenance approach as referenced in Housing for All, policy objective 20.6. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response.
As notified in Circular 18 2022, €5 million in funding has been ring-fenced for Planned Maintenance under this years Planned Maintenance/Voids Programme to support the implementation of an ICT asset management system for the LA sector and to provide a funding contribution for the commencement of stock condition surveys.
