Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units that will be provided in 2012 and 2013 in each local authority; the manner in which they will be provided whether by direct provision of council houses, by leasing arrangements with private landlords or by discussions with the National Assets Management Agency; if he will provide details of any agreements already in place with NAMA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31260/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units that will be provided in 2012 and 2013 in each local authority; the manner in which they will be provided whether by direct provision of council houses, by leasing arrangements with private landlords or by discussions with the National Assets Management Agency; if he will provide details of any agreements already in place with NAMA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31220/12]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has reviewed the recent Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council housing waiting lists; if he is satisfied that the local authorities mentioned are currently effectively discharging their housing function; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29025/12]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units that will be provided in 2012 and 2013 in each local authority; the manner in which they will be provided whether by direct provision of council houses, by leasing arrangements with private landlords or by discussions with the National Assets Management Agency; if he will provide details of any agreements already in place with NAMA [31262/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which the full requirements in terms of local authority housing needs are being met at present with particular reference to the means of those who may have lost their jobs and as a consequence their homes through repossession or who are currently on existing housing waiting lists; if he will review the procedures whereby such applicants are admissible to the local authority housing waiting lists; if it is anticipated that extra housing units will be provided directly or indirectly by way of specific housing programme or by way of excess stock in the private sector for eligible and suitable applicants who meet the relevant income criteria with the objective of ensuring that empty housing estates around the country are utilised to obviate the need for rent support; if he has quantified the full extent of the requirement both in terms of the existing housing waiting lists and those seeking to access such lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31189/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 22, 26, 35, 41 and 50 together.

The Government's housing policy statement, published in June 2011, clearly identifies that the priority for Government will be to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support.

I am determined to ensure that the social housing programme is framed in a manner which optimises the delivery of social housing and the return for the resources invested. To achieve this it is essential that we tailor the use of available Exchequer supports to prevailing conditions and explore the full range of solutions to address housing needs. The social housing capital budget has been reduced from €1.535 billion in 2008 to just over €333.7m for 2012, and the financial parameters within which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return to large capital funded construction programmes. Nevertheless, the Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing support needs through a variety of mechanisms, including through increased provision of social housing. In spite of the challenging circumstances within which local authorities are forced to operate, a tentative projection of 4,000 to 4,500 housing units is anticipated for 2012.

Projected levels of activity in 2013 will be subject to the financial provision for housing, which will be determined in the context of the 2013 Estimates process.

Delivery of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme and leasing, but the Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will increase the supply of permanent new social housing. Such mechanisms will include options to purchase, build to lease and the sourcing of loan finance by approved housing bodies for construction and acquisition. There is also obvious potential, across a range of housing programmes, for the Government's objective of sourcing and providing suitable residential units for use as social housing to be aligned with the commercial objectives of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

Some of the units provided under the leasing scheme will the sourced from NAMA. Given the number of variables involved it is not possible at this stage to provide a reliable estimate of the number of units that will be fully transferred to social use by the end of 2012. To date over 2,000 units have been examined with a view to determining their suitability for social housing. Discussion and negotiation has commenced in respect of nearly 700 properties involving approved housing bodies, local authorities, the property owners, financial institutions, receivers and other relevant parties. Of these 700 properties, contracts are signed in respect of 58 units and it is envisaged that these will be delivered later in the summer. 386 of these units are at various stages of the approval process and 254 are being appraised

The relevant sections of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 dealing with social housing support and related Social Housing Assessment Regulations, 2011, were commenced on 1 April 2011. These set out the standard procedures for assessing applicants for social housing in every authority. The implementation of these Regulations is currently under review by my Department.

My Department does not hold information on the number of households on local authorities' waiting lists at any given time. This number inevitably continuously fluctuates as households are allocated housing and new households apply for housing support. Detailed information on the latest statutory assessment of housing need carried out in March 2011, including a breakdown by housing authority, is available on my Department's website – www.environ.ie or on the Housing Agency's website at www.housing.ie .