Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Friday, 3 Jul 2009

Vol. 196 No. 10

Sheltered Housing.

Senator Paul Bradford

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran. I am glad he is here to respond to my question on behalf of the Kilavullen housing association and its application for grant aid. I look forward to hearing his comments on the scheme, its funding requirements, the plans for it at national level and his views on the Kilavullen project.

To give a brief overview, Kilavullen is a village in a parish of the same name in County Cork that is quite close to Mallow town. It is a rural parish with a significant population of senior citizens, many of whom would be interested in being considered for social housing in the locality if it was available. Currently, the village does not have a local authority housing scheme designed for elderly persons. However, as a result of local planning and fundraising, an organisation called the Kilavullen housing association was set up. It has raised funds and has engaged in successful dialogue with the HSE, the Cork County Council planning department, relevant personnel in the local authority and with personnel from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Arising from the work of the association, an application was lodged seeking funding from the Department under the capital assistance scheme. The Minister of State is aware, from his time as a member of his local authority, that throughout the country the capital assistance scheme has resulted in a significant number of developments that allow elderly people reside in comfort in their own communities. This is good for the persons concerned and their communities and contributes to a strong community and village life. These developments are also good for the construction industry and local contractors who often do much of the work.

I understand the scheme, like most schemes depending on national funding currently, is under some degree of stress and strain. I appreciate there are constraints, but I would like the Minister of State to look upon the Kilavullen application in a favourable light, as the association has invested much time and energy in the scheme at local level. The committee has worked hard and has worked closely with the local authority and with the HSE which is the owner of the preferred site. Much good work has been done locally and the local fundraising efforts have given rise to the hope and expectation in the community that the project will move to construction phase.

I understand there are delays on projects and difficulties with regard to funding, but I would like to know the current position on the application submitted to the Department. What are the Department's plans for the scheme nationally and how will these plans impact on Kilavullen? I appeal to the Minister of State to consider the application, and similar applications, in as favourable a light as possible. These are good projects not only from an economic perspective but from a social one. They allow people stay in their communities and help retain a sense of community and a strong social bond between neighbours and families. I appeal to the Minister of State to use whatever discretion he has in a positive fashion.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Michael Finneran)

I thank Senator Bradford for raising this matter and commend him on his ongoing involvement with the voluntary and co-operative housing sector in County Cork.

This sector has a very proud record of achievement in terms of the provision of accommodation to substantial numbers of vulnerable households over the past 20 or so years. Since the 1980s, more than 21,000 homes have been provided in all areas of the country under the capital assistance scheme, CAS, and the capital loan and subsidy scheme, CLSS. As the Senator will be aware, these two schemes provide accommodation for people with special needs and for low income families. By any measure of social housing delivery, this represents a considerable success story in terms of meeting housing need.

We are currently living in difficult times, both in terms of the constraints on the public finances and wider social issues, such as rising unemployment. However, I reassure the Senator that support for voluntary housing remains a priority for my Department. To that end, I am confident that we will be in a position to meet substantially our ambitious Towards 2016 target to start 6,000 new voluntary houses between 2007 and 2009. More than 4,000 of these have already been delivered, at a cost to the Exchequer of some €850 million. This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to supporting the valuable contribution by the sector in meeting housing needs of vulnerable groups and households.

The voluntary and co-operative housing programme is delivered through two schemes, the CAS and the CLSS. Following the announcement of the annual allocations for each local authority in May of this year, resources under these schemes are now committed for this year. Incidentally, this is the third and final year of the initial Towards 2016 delivery period for voluntary and co-operative housing. In light of this, it is now incumbent on us to look ahead to the next years of the programme and, taking account of the changed economic situation, begin the process of preparing a new multi-annual programme to underpin future progress. The voluntary and co-operative sector has been, as always, very active in this regard, and has already submitted an impressive number of new projects for consideration under the new programme.

This brings me to the project raised by Senator Bradford, for seven units at Killavullen in County Cork. I make it clear that this project has not yet been formally submitted to my Department for consideration. It remains under consideration by Cork County Council in the context of the council's overall approach to meeting housing need in the area. I understand that officials from the council have engaged closely with the voluntary group and have recently requested some additional information on the potential costs involved in the project. Obviously, it is impossible for me to make a determination on the project in the absence of a formal submission. However, I again draw the Senator's attention to my earlier comments on a new multi-annual programme for voluntary and co-operative housing to begin next year, and the need to develop that programme in a manner which clearly reflects the very changed economic environment.

We are all aware of the challenges that face us as we continue to try to deliver ambitious capital programmes in a climate of reduced resources and rising need. However, this situation also presents a significant opportunity for us to better manage investment to achieve greater value for money. Accordingly, as we begin our preparations for a new multi-annual programme for the voluntary housing sector, I would like the message to go out that the Government remains committed to the voluntary and co-operative housing sector, but we must ensure, now more than ever, that our support delivers on our sustainable communities' objectives, while simultaneously achieving best value for money.