Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
425. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Kildare County Council is unable to begin the repair and lease scheme citing staffing issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19174/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) has been developed, under Pillar 5 of Rebuilding Ireland, to assist private property owners and local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant properties across Ireland. The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their properties up to the required standard for rental property.
Following on from the success of the initial RLS pilot in Waterford and Carlow local authorities, the pilot was expanded on a national basis from 23 February 2017. In recognition of both the critical demand for additional units and the potential the RLS scheme has to offer, I have assigned additional funding to the scheme in 2017, bringing the total amount of investment available this year to €32m, which will facilitate up to 800 vacant properties being brought back into use as new homes for families on local authority waiting lists.
In the period since the launch of the scheme, my Department has been engaging bilaterally with local authorities and AHBs, including Kildare County Council, to provide support and assistance in the implementation of the scheme. Two workshops have been convened to introduce the scheme to local authority and AHB staff and to provide practical information and assistance on how best to develop the RLS in their areas. A detailed guidance document, template legal agreements, application forms and other resources have also been made available to local authorities and AHBs in order to assist in the implementation of the scheme and minimise the impact of the scheme on existing resources.
In addition, the RLS has been designed to draw on the expertise and experience gained by AHBs on social housing acquisitions and leasing in recent years and it is open to local authorities to work in collaboration with AHBs in their areas to maximise the potential impact of the scheme. However, local authorities retain overall responsibility for the implementation of the scheme in their area and for ensuring that housing units brought into use under the scheme are required and fulfil social housing demand in their areas. Where collaboration with AHBs is facilitated, local authorities then have increased capacity to focus on core construction programmes, land management and mixed tenure goals. The delivery of social housing under Rebuilding Ireland is focussed on a need to acknowledge the blend of delivery routes available and to harness the maximum capacity of all stakeholders operating in the sector.
Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible. It is therefore, a matter for each individual Chief Executive to apply for sanction from my Department and, once approved, to recruit and assign staff to specific divisions within their organisation.
My Department works closely with all local authorities in relation to their staffing requirements. Staffing sanction requests are examined on a case by case basis having due regard to the continued delivery of key services in the context of staffing and budgetary constraints.
I understand that no requests for additional staffing related to the implementation of the RLS have been received in my Department from Kildare County Council. However, my Department would look favourably if any such request was to be received, and is happy to continue working closely with the local authority as the scheme continues to establish momentum.
