Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Oct 1999

Vol. 508 No. 3

Written Answers - Local Authority Housing.

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

90 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the degree to which housing needs have been met in the past six months; the number of affordable houses which have been made available; the number of families whose housing needs have been met in this period; the plans, if any, he has to meet the housing needs of those now on local authority housing waiting lists; the method by which it is intended to meet within a reasonable time the growing housing requirement of those who can not afford a home of their own; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18761/99]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy):

The most recent available data regarding social housing output relates to the first six months of this year and is published in the June quarter edition of my Department's Quarterly Housing Statistics Bulletin, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.

I expect that the local authority housing programme, together with the output from other social housing measures and vacancies occurring in the existing housing stock, will enable the housing needs of up to 10,000 households to be catered for in 1999. Earlier this year I announced a new multi-annual local authority housing programme. This programme provides for 22,000 local authority housing starts over the four year period 2000-2003. When taken together with the expected increase in output from the voluntary sector and the other social and affordable housing measures I expect the housing needs of over 50,000 households will be met over the next four years.