Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 June 2012
430 Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to make available the necessary funds for essential maintenance to local authority housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29015/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra457 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide extra funding to deal with the serious issues surrounding the maintenance of social housing, particularly flat complexes. [29473/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra458 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to improve turnaround times on social housing units which have become vacant. [29474/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra459 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to put in place an emergency fund to support local authorities that have vacant units and large housing waiting lists but are unable to fund refurbishment or maintenance work required for retenanting. [29475/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 430 and 457 to 459, inclusive, together.
In accordance with the provisions of the Housing Act, 1966, the provision and management of dwellings, including the carrying out of routine and planned maintenance programmes, is the responsibility of the relevant housing authority. Housing maintenance programmes are funded directly by local authorities from their own resources, including from rental income and receipts from the disposal of properties and sales of houses to tenants.
Under my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme, local authorities are allocated capital funding each year in respect of a range of measures to improve the standard and overall quality of their social housing stock, including the regeneration of large social housing estates and flat complexes, estate wide remedial works schemes, a retrofitting measure to improve the energy efficiency of older apartments and houses and funding for extensions and adaptations to meet the needs of tenants with a disability, etc. Given the constraints on capital budgets for new stock, my Department has in recent years placed a greater emphasis on local authority social housing improvement works programmes and on the early return of vacant units to productive use.
This year I allocated some €145 million to local authorities in respect of measures aimed at improving the social housing stock. €90 million of this is being provided in respect of the National Regeneration Programme for the social, economic and physical regeneration of disadvantaged social housing estates in Dublin, Limerick and Cork and in a number of regional towns around the country.
€27 million is being provided in respect of some 45 estate-wide remedial works schemes in 26 local authorities with a further €10 million earmarked for extensions and adaptations to properties across all authorities. A total of €18 million is being provided for improving the quality and energy efficiency of older housing stock. Beginning in 2011, my Department required local authorities to focus the energy retrofitting programme on bringing vacant stock back into productive use. The 2012 programme will build on the achievements of 2011 when more than 2,600 vacant units were refurbished and made available for re-letting. While local authorities may undertake work on tenanted properties, there is a continuing focus on making vacant properties available for re-letting as quickly as possible. Grants of up to €15,000 per house are generally available for improving the fabric of the house with a further grant of up to €3,000 where additional essential works are needed. Over the course of 2010 and 2011 a total of 4,492 houses were improved.
I intend to review the operation of the Social Housing Improvement Works Programme, including the remedial works and retrofitting measures, with a view to possible changes aimed at improving the effectiveness of the various measures.
