KENNY WELCOMES OVER €69 MILLION OF HOUSING FUNDS FOR DUBLIN CITY AND FINGAL

Posted on March 20, 2012 2:28 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East Labour Party TD Seán Kenny today warmly welcomed details of housing capital allocations to Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council worth some €60 million for 2012. The allocations will support investment under the national regeneration programme, works to improve the standard and energy efficiency of the national social housing stock as well as meeting commitments under existing contracts for delivering social and voluntary houses. A multi- annual capital investment programme for new housing construction projects will be outlined later in the year.

Deputy Kenny pointed to the fact that the social housing capital budget had declined significantly in recent years.
"In managing this decline, the government has protected to the maximum extent the budgets for homelessness, regeneration, and grants for the elderly and the disabled. With the economic crisis and restrictions on government borrowing, the government has to provide social housing by other means."

"The allocations include investment to ensure real progress is made under the ambitious regeneration programmes in in estates and flat complexes all over Dublin City. Despite the constraints on the construction programme, the Government will allocate just over €50m to local authorities this year to fund on-going construction work and acquisition commitments as well as improving the standard and energy efficiency of the social housing stock."

"Minister O'Sullivan has told me that she intends to announce a three-year limited programme of new construction projects later this year, covering the period to end 2014, based on the response by local authorities to her Department's request for a prioritised list of projects with a focus on meeting specific categories of need, including people with a disability."

"I welcome the hard work and the investment that Minister Jan O'Sullivan is making in the nations public housing stock. It is yet another example of Labour in government doing what needs to be done - investing in society, even when times are proving to be very difficult."