I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 to 396, inclusive, together.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 58 of the Housing Act, 1966, local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of their social housing stock, including policy and practice in relation to tenancy arrangements and decisions in relation to the acquisition of specific properties to meet identified social housing need.
Local authorities acquire properties to meet a range of housing need, including accommodation for persons with specific categories of housing need such as the homeless, older persons, persons with a physical, intellectual or mental health disability etc. Subject to my Department’s approval, the cost of acquiring properties to add to the social housing stock may be recouped out of the annual capital allocations to local authorities under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme.
Information in relation to the numbers of properties acquired by local authorities since 2003 is published in my Department’s Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie.
The detailed information sought in relation to each of the 8,300 properties acquired across all local authorities over the 10 year period in question is not readily available in my Department and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.
