Deputy McCartan gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter as to the Darndale refurbishment scheme with particular reference to the delay in its programme and the serious undermining of the project as a result of that delay.
Adjournment Debate. - Darndale (Dublin) Housing Refurbishment.
I should like to thank the Chair very much for giving me the opportunity to raise this local but nonetheless extremely important issue and the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment for taking the time this evening to listen to the points I have to make.
Darndale Estate in the Coolock area of my constituency comprises 921 houses. The scheme was built in the early seventies according to an award winning design. Unfortunately, this design was departed from severely and the 900 or so houses were built in one quarter of the original space provided. The fabric of the buildings is of poor quality and the standards of construction and lay-out were nothing short of appalling.
Since their construction it is fair to say that Darndale has descended into a ghetto, one of Dublin's most notorious, if not the worst. Unemployment within the estate ran to upwards of 80 per cent at any one time and it was used by Dublin Corporation as a place of last resort for housing purposes. However, in the mid to late eighties the people of Darndale organised and began to fight back. Under an organisation of young people and group leaders, known as Image Changers, a new campaign was started to give Darndale a new face and a new environment. They met with the then Taoiseach on 9 December 1985 and made their case to him. On 14 January 1986 they met with the then Minister for the Environment as a community group involving all the agencies such as the tenant residents association and other concerned community organisations.
This led to a mass public meeting in Darndale on 19 February 1986 when a very ambitious plan was announced by the Department of the Environment for the overhaul and refurbishment of the scheme in its entirety. This was welcomed by all and funding was committed. The community, in consultation with the Department of the Environment and the corporation, set about working out a scheme. A pilot scheme was introduced covering 81 houses in the Primrose Grove area on the estate. The idea was that the plan of refurbishment would be put into place in this area to learn the nuts and bolts of the operation and from there the overall plan could proceed.
However, work on the pilot scheme did not ultimately begin until early 1988, tenders totalling £900,000 having been ageed for those houses in October 1987. That pilot scheme has been completed but since then only one of the seven remaining phases has been completed, that is, phase 2 involving 119 houses. That began in 1989 and the final work is only being tidied up at this stage. Phase 3, involving a further 119 houses, has just been agreed at tender stage and it is anticipated that work on this phase will begin some time early in the new year. The cost to date of the work done, and planned, is of the order of £4.5 million but in short over the period of five years we have managed to deal only with 200 houses. Consequently, at the rate we are progressing it will be upwards of 20 years before the entire estate is completed.
My plea to the Minister of State this evening is that he realise that an excellent scheme, well received by all, is being destroyed because of slow progress. I plead with him to do something to escalate progress so that, within a period of four to five years, the entire estate will be completed. What is happening at present is development of an oasis in a wilderness, a scheme and attendant community being developed at an uneven pace so that the good work of his Department is being undermined. I urge the Minister to examine this problem urgently.
At the outset, it must be emphasised that the mangement and maintenance, including the repair and improvement, of their rented dwellings are matters for local authorities to be funded from their revenue resources. The Government, however, recognise that some authorities face exceptional housing problems, the cost of which they could not easily deal with from these sources. It is to assist authorities in coping with such problems that the remedial works scheme is operated by my Department. It is designed to help them refurbish dwellings built under low-cost arrangements, pre-1940 houses which are in need of major structural repairs, and certain run-down urban estates. The Government have allocated a total of £15 million for the scheme in 1990. I am glad to say that Darndale is greatly benefiting from this programme.
This is a 921 house estate built by Dublin Corporation in the seventies. The refurbishment involves a redesign of the unsatisfactory estate layout, as well as structural works to the houses. Because of the size of the project, and the high cost involved — over £11 million — it is appropriate that it should be carried out on a phased basis. The location of the phases, the number of dwellings involved in each phase and the amount to be assigned to the project from their annual remedial works scheme allocation, are entirely matters for decision by the local authority.
To date, phase 1 — 81 houses in the Primrose area — has been completed. Work is virtually completed on the 119 houses in the Buttercup area which makes up phase 2. So far, over £3 million has been spent on the project. Last June, the seeking of tenders for phase 3 — which also consists of 119 houses — at Primrose Grove was approved. The corporation's proposals in relation to the acceptance of a tender were received in the Department last week. A decision will issue as quickly as possible.
Darndale is one of seven Dublin Corporation housing estates which have been designated for funding under the remedial works scheme. The total estimated cost of these projects is in the region of £80 million. Dublin Corporation received a capital allocation of £5 million — one-third of the total available nationally for all remedial works — in 1990. The apportionment of the allocation between their approved schemes, including Darndale, is entirely a matter for themselves.
I have already explained that the management and maintenance, including improvement, of their housing stock are matters for the local authority. The remedial works scheme is not a substitute for a properly planned, and executed, programme of management and maintenance and should not be seen as relieving an authority of their responsibility for keeping their housing stock in good condition. It is open to Dublin Corporation to supplement, from their own revenue sources, the allocations made by the Department, as a means of expediting work in Darndale. It is also essential that they should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the management and maintenance of the estate is such as to ensure that the benefits of the refurbishment continue in the long term, that the substantial investment in the project is protected and that the quality of their housing accommodation is maintained in the future for the benefit of the residents of Darndale.
I can say to the Deputy that I understand the position quite well. He will appreciate that the submission was received in my Department last week. I can tell him I will be looking favourably at it. He can rest assured that I understand the position well and will be favourably disposed towards it.