asked the Minister for Local Government what regulations and facilities exist in his Department to meet the lack of housing existing in a district where new industries are established, and particularly where workers have to travel long distances to work; whether a worker having to travel a long distance to work is entitled to qualify for a local authority house on these grounds alone; and if he will state the number of miles from the place of employment considered to be a qualifying distance by him.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing for Industrial Workers.
46.
The Housing Acts provide for the payments of grants by my Department, with supplementary grants, loans and developed sites by local authorities, to persons providing, purchasing or improving houses. In addition, the Acts provide a system of rates remission on housing. These facilities may be availed of by groups or individuals to provide housing for employees of new industries. Legislation also enables housing authorities in the formulation of their building programmes to have regard to needs, which are associated with industrial development, of persons who are unable to avail themselves of the private housing facilities.
In so far as industrial concerns are prepared to sponsor the provision of housing for their employees, the services of the National Building Agency, Ltd. are available generally and have been availed of by several such concerns in County Cork.
Distance from work may be taken into account by a housing authority as a factor in considering an applicant's need for rehousing but by itself alone it would not be sufficient to imply an obligation on the authority to rehouse the person concerned.
There are no statutory or administrative regulations on this point. The weight to be given to it in conjunction with other factors is a matter for decision by the housing authority concerned in any particular instance in which it arises.