Vol. 435 No. 6
54 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are 500 applications for local authority housing in County Mayo; the way in which he proposes to deal with this figure and have it alleviated as a matter of urgency; the allocation that he intends to make to Mayo County Council in 1994 to alleviate this position; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware of the number of households accepted by the housing authorities in County Mayo for inclusion in the assessments of needs carried out under section 9 of the Housing Act, 1988 at 31 March 1993. The results of the assessments were published in my Department's Housing Statistics Bulletin, June Quarter 1993, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
The Government's plans for responding to housing needs nationally are set out in the Programme for a Partnership Government which states clearly that the aim of the Government's policies will be to reduce pressure on local authority waiting lists to the greatest extent possible. In 1993, 125 new local authority house "starts" were authorised for County Mayo and these will become available for letting in 1994. They will be complemented by output under the different social housing schemes e.g. the voluntary housing schemes. The number of housing "starts" to be allocated to individual local authorities in 1994 will be determined early in the New Year having regard, inter alia, to the results of the latest needs assessments.
