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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 27 Nov 1991

Vol. 413 No. 6

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Authority Housing Maintenance.

Jim Mitchell

Ceist:

5 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment if his Department monitors the cost of local authority housing maintenance; if any subsidy or grant is paid to local authorities in respect of house maintenance; the average amount spent per annum per tenancy dwelling nationally; and if he will outline the local authority with (1) the highest expenditure per dwelling per annum and (2) the lowest expenditure per dwelling per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

12.

To ask the Minister for the Environment if he will outline, in respect of each local authority, the number of tenancy dwellings owned by them on 31 December 1990 and the average cost of maintenance for each dwelling in 1990.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 12 together.

The management and maintenance of their rented dwellings are the responsibility of local authorities. The costs involved are not directly subsidised by the Exchequer and must be met from rental income, the revenue portion of the proceeds of tenant purchase schemes, and the revenue resources of the authorities themselves, including the general rate support grant.

I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement setting out statistical information derived from returns made by the main local authorities for the year ended 31 December 1990. Based on these returns, the estimated average maintenance cost per dwelling nationally was £353 in 1990, the highest average cost was incurred by Galway Corporation, £658, and the lowest average cost £30 arose in County Louth.

Following is the statement:

Local Authority

Number of rented dwellings

Average cost of maintenance

£

County Boroughs

Cork

7,425

385

Dublin

34,775

492

Galway

1,189

658

Limerick

3,243

376

Waterford

2,254

326

County Councils

Carlow

488

171

Cavan

745

119

Clare

673

145

Cork North

916

158

Cork South

1,204

162

Cork West

348

205

Donegal

2,570

82

Dublin

5,576

299

Galway

1,666

144

Kerry

1,931

96

Kildare

1,089

70

Kilkenny

1,081

248

Laois

934

132

Leitrim

595

110

Limerick

1,086

243

Longford

672

216

Louth

372

30

Mayo

1,321

121

Meath

1,192

180

Monaghan

359

175

Offaly

644

171

Roscommon

549

207

Sligo

533

56

Tipperary NR

692

149

Tipperary SR

882

257

Waterford

541

197

Westmeath

542

174

Wexford

1,192

218

Wicklow

1,385

113

Borough Corporations

Clonmel

543

421

Drogheda

811

429

Dún Laoghaire

2,317

574

Kilkenny

417

512

Sligo

552

450

Wexford

658

319

Urban Districts

Arklow

323

152

Athlone

276

298

Athy

157

422

Ballina

305

257

Ballinasloe

219

290

Birr

N/A

N/A

Bray

903

383

Buncrana

N/A

N/A

Bundoran

36

207

Carlow

348

250

Carrickmacross

26

154

Carrick-on-Suir

332

302

Cashel

122

432

Castlebar

63

238

Castleblayney

78

300

Cavan

246

303

Ceanannas Mór

58

113

Clonakilty

52

231

Clones

48

33

Cobh

184

173

Dundalk

1,134

372

Dungarvan

345

453

Ennis

350

168

Enniscorthy

241

163

Fermoy

132

285

Killarney

148

214

Kilrush

124

129

Kinsale

46

330

Letterkenny

88

166

Listowel

129

266

Longford

235

291

Macroom

74

481

Mallow

274

441

Midleton

N/A

N/A

Monaghan

196

471

Naas

N/A

N/A

Navan

81

398

Nenagh

187

296

New Ross

345

274

Skibbereen

35

338

Templemore

93

289

Thurles

232

190

Tipperary

315

224

Tralee

844

326

Trim

47

63

Tullamore

298

366

Westport

55

110

Wicklow

180

223

Youghal

201

113

I welcome the Minister to his first Environment Question Time. Is the Minister aware that for instance in the greater Dublin area the local authorities are spending more on maintenance than they are receiving in rent revenue even though rents are now considerable? Will the Minister initiate an inquiry into this scandal; would he not agree that the tenants do not get a maintenance service even though huge amounts of money are being misspent on it; and would he not further agree that this is one of the most scandalous and inefficient areas of public expenditure?

I agree that the cost of maintenance is considerable. The cost of management and maintenance is approximately £18 million per annum. There is an obligation on local authorities to ensure that they get good value for money with regard to maintenance. In some areas of Dublin the local residents, along with Dublin Corporation, are involved in maintaining their own properties to a very good standard.

In view of the £80 million that is being spent nationally on house maintenance and of the severe cutbacks threatened in all areas of public expenditure for 1992, will the Minister institute an inquiry to see if some more efficient and effective way could be devised of providing the maintenance service that tenants need at less cost to the State?

We will certainly keep the matter under review. When my colleague, Deputy Padraig Flynn, was Minister, he introduced a new purchase scheme——

The sale of the century.

——because the policy has been, and the policy for the nineties will be, to try to ensure more home ownership.

Bearing in mind the headlines of recent days about the problems of public expenditure, would the Minister be surprised to learn that replacing, for instance, a door on a sink unit is costing some local authorities £300 or £400 when a new sink unit would cost a quarter of that amount? Will the Minister accept that the tenants are being ripped off and getting a poor service, that the taxpayer is being ripped off and that there is a need for an urgent review?

This is a matter for each local authority. There is tremendous variation between the different local authorities — £30 on average in Louth and £658 in the Galway Corporation area. I know there are reasons for that variation such as the age of the house, the type of dwelling, the type of estate, the size of the house, the standard of maintenance and also the effectiveness of the overall performance of the local authority. We are concerned to ensure that there is good value for money in the maintenance of local authority houses.

I have a brief question to put to the Minister.

I am sorry, I cannot entertain the Deputy. Supplementaries at this stage are confined to the Members who put down the question.

Does the Minister have no role in all of this to improve local government services?

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