Vol. 481 No. 5
97 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will immediately sanction funding to provide additional bedrooms for persons (details supplied) in County Sligo in view of the circumstances of this case. [16523/97]
No proposal for funding for this case has been received in my Department from Sligo County Council. Where the cost of work proposed does not exceed £17,000 the approval of the Department is not required subject to the cost being met from the council's capital allocation for the local authority housing programme.
98 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of applicants on housing waiting lists of local authorities in the Cork East constituency who are indirectly depending on his Department for funding; if he will give a detailed breakdown in this regard; the funding, if any, he proposes to make available to shorten these lists; and the timsecale in this regard. [16524/97]
In March 1996 local authorities carried out an assessment of housing needs in their areas. Details of the results based on returns from local authorities are included in Part VIII of my Department's annual housing statistics bulletin for 1996, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
Social housing needs are met through the provision of local authority housing supplemented by a range of other social housing measures. It is for housing authorities to develop the full potential of the various measures open to them to respond to housing needs in their areas.
Information on funding is not computed on a constituency basis. A statement showing the financial allocations to individual local authorities in the Cork area for the different elements of their local authority housing programme is available in the Oireachtas Library.
99 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will make extra funding available to Kildare County Council in relation to the work in lieu grant scheme operated by the council due to the extraordinary number of cases which cannot be dealt with due to the lack of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16620/97]
The funds available to me for the local authority housing programme, including improvement works in lieu of local authority housing, were fully allocated among local authorities earlier this year. Kildare County Council's 1997 allocation included £45,000 for the improvement works in lieu etc. scheme. Local authorities were informed at the time that within the limits of the overall allocation it was open to them to seek approval to divert funds for one element of their programme to another such as the improvement works in lieu scheme. No such application has been received from Kildare County Council.
100 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will review the rules governing the essential repairs grant as operated by the county councils to ensure that the grant covers extensions with flat roofs built over the past 20 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16621/97]
The essential repairs grant scheme is administered by the housing authorities in accordance with the Housing (Disabled Persons and Essential Repairs Grants) Regulations, 1993. Subject to these regulations, it is a matter for each authority to determine whether a grant can be paid in an individual case.
