Alan Shatter
Ceist:39 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when he will inform local authorities of their house construction allocations for the year 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23444/99]
Written Answers. - Local Authority Housing.
Seymour Crawford
Ceist:45 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has satisfied himself that each local authority will reach its house construction targets in 1999; if any allocations not used by individual local authorities can be transferred to others; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23448/99]
Liz McManus
Ceist:60 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of local authority houses to be completed in 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23316/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 45 and 60 together.
I am currently considering the housing starts allocations for the four year multi-annual local authority housing programme and I will be shortly determining and notifying allocations to individual authorities. I propose to allocate the 22,000 starts available under the multi-annual programme to local authorities having regard to the results of the recent assessment of housing needs and the capacity of authorities to deliver the housing required to meet their needs. In this regard, local authorities were asked to indicate what level of a programme they felt they would need and be capable of implementing and I will also consider their responses in determining the allocations.
I will be advising authorities to implement a continuous programme of output over the next four years so as to produce a streamlined delivery of housing thereby providing a better and more effective mechanism of social housing delivery. Authorities will be advised to front load the programme as far as possible to meet housing needs as quickly as possible. Programmes for individual years will be developed and agreed with individual authorities and this will secure the funding for each authority's programme. In order to emphasise the need to accelerate local authority output over the next four years my Department held a series of regional workshops recently with key personnel in local authorities and it has been emphasised that my Department will co-operate in every way in helping them meet their housing programmes.
The current indications are that the level of housing starts achieved by authorities so far this year is similar to the position at this time last year and the great majority of local authorities should reach their targets of starts by the end of the year. However, it is apparent to me that a limited number of authorities, mostly urban authorities, will not reach their targets of starts. I have accordingly written to the relevant managers to express my concern over the lack of progress being made in implementing their programmes and I have asked for reports to be sent to me which I will examine before determining the allocations. My Department is prepared to consider requests for additional starts from authorities where there is an identified need and their current programmes are well advanced but I am not pressed with such requests. I will continue to urge authorities to ensure maximum output is achieved in the current year. I expect that the local authority housing programme will complete 3,700 houses in the current year and that over 4,000 starts will actually commence this year. Any starts which have not commenced by end of year will commence early in the new year and will not be lost to the programme.
I am very conscious of the increased level of social housing need and priority is being given in tackling this need. The local authority programme is the major contributor to social housing output. I expect that taken with the output from the complementary social-voluntary housing measures, and vacancies occurring in the existing housing stock the housing needs of some 9,800 households will be catered for in 1999 and that the increased social housing output over the next four years will meet the needs of over 50,000 households.