Jim Mitchell
Ceist:3 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment if he has any plans to provide in law for the privatisation of house maintenance of local authority houses.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Authority House Maintenance.
Under existing legislation, the maintenance of their rented dwellings and the most appropriate methods of carrying out of such work are matters entirely for local authorities.
Is the Minister aware that Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council spend more on maintenance than they receive in rental revenue?
That is not true.
Deputy Mitchell is right.
I checked my facts before I tabled the question and the Minister confirmed that I am right. Will he agree that the whole area of house maintenance is a scandal, especially in the Dublin area, and that there is a case for abolishing the present form of maintenance which would have — or even quarter — the rents of the tenants who are so badly served by the present maintenance arrangement?
There is something in what the Deputy says. I should like to confirm that the latest figures in regard to management and maintenance expenditure for 1989 is £65 million. The total rental income for all authorities is £47.4 million. As far as Dublin is concerned, we estimate the total maintenance and management of the estates in the same year at about £30 million and the rental income £17.9 million. The Deputy is right in that regard.
Of course, there is nothing in existing legislation to prevent authorities from doing the work by contract if they so wish, which is the subject matter of the Deputy's question. In fact, a considerable proportion of work is now undertaken by that method by the corporation and by other local authorities and housing authorities throughout the country. I have no objection to them going that way.
Will the Minister accept that this problem is not caused because rents are too low? Most certainly they are not. I know of people in St. Michael's Estate in two-bedroom flats paying £35 rent, yet they can get no maintenance done. They wait months and sometimes years for essential repairs. Will the Minister not agree that this is a classic case for privatisation and that something alarming is wrong with the maintenance services in our local authorities?
I would like to refer to two things there. It is an interesting figure when one considers that, between remedial work schemes and the bathrooms subprogramme under the remedial works schemes together with the management and maintenance programme the Deputy referred to, £80 million will be spent this year. Under a report going back to 1989 major changes in the organisation and operation of maintenance programmes were considered and promoted. It is a matter for the local authorities and they are not too happy, I understand, to go down that road, although it has to be said that in the 1990 Estimates a sum of £1 million was provided for the carying out by contract of routine maintenance by the corporation. Perhaps there is a change in attitude there and certainly the regulations allow for it. I have no problem with it.