Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Dec 1995

Vol. 459 No. 6

Written Answers. - Housing Applications.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

109 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to deal with the substantial increase in applications for housing by single parent families; if this category of applicant has substantially increased over the past ten years; the level of such increases in each local authority area or by county for the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18723/95]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment (Ms McManus)

Each local authority is responsible, as the housing authority for its area, for the planning, initiation and construction or acquisition of housing for people assessed as in need of such accommodation and unable to provide it from their own resources.

The Government's programme of 7,000 social housing "starts" a year is a significant commitment towards meeting housing need. In all, it is expected that the housing needs of some 9,500 households will be catered for under the programme in 1995, rising to over 10,000 next year. It is a matter for individual housing authorities to develop to full potential the various social housing measures available to them as a contribution towards meeting the particular housing needs of their areas.

The available information on the various categories of housing need by household size for each housing authority is set out in Part VIII of my Department's annual housing statistics bulletins for 1991 and 1993, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library. While the published information does not distinguish lone parent families, it is a fact that they constitute a growing element in housing needs in recent years.

I have directed local authorities to undertake the next assessment of the need for housing accommodation on 29 March 1996. This will include up-to-date information on household size of people included in the assessment. The results of the assessment will be published in the Housing Statistics Bulletin in due course.