Vol. 540 No. 1
101 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the sum of money available for refurbishment schemes to modernise the existing local authority housing stock; his plans to radically increase the funding available for such schemes in view of the age profile of housing stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17505/01]
The management, maintenance and improvement of their rented housing stock is primarily the responsibility of local authorities to be defrayed from their own resources and I understand that local authorities spent over £130 million for this purpose in 1999 which is the most recent year for which complete figures are available to my Department.
My Department is also committed to providing very significant funding over the period of the national development plan to meet the capital cost of major redevelopment and refurbishment programmes which authorities could not meet from their own resources. This year some £150 million in capital funding is available to local authorities for the remedial works scheme which assists local authorities in carrying out major essential works to dwellings which were constructed prior to 1 January 1960 or which have serious design or construction defects and to run-down urban estates; the comprehensive regeneration of Ballymun which will involve the demolition of the high rise flat blocks and their replacement with new housing units; the redevelopment of a number of seriously run down flat complexes in Dublin and Cork involving a mix of new build, refurbishment and, where appropriate, demolition and replacement; and the special area regeneration programme in Dublin which consists of a once-off programme of upgrading high density older flat complexes at various locations around the city.
I consider that this level of funding, including both from my Department and the local authorities' own resources, should enable local authorities to bring about substantial improvements to the standard of their existing housing stock over the coming years.
