DUE TO GOVERNMENT cutbacks regeneration has been scaled back or been delayed altogether, according to a report published today by Clúid Housing Association.
The report says that due to the collapse of the Public-Private-Partnership programme many communities are worse off and have been left derelict and in disrepair.
Over 20 estates across the country have been identified as in need of major regeneration, with some estates still waiting for promises of regeneration made in the Celtic Tiger to materialise.
The report published today has recommended a new strategy to make regeneration projects work. The report suggests that a Public-Nonprofit-Partnership between housing associations and local authorities could tackle substandard and derelict estates across the country.
The report states that the property crash revealed that there was an “over reliance” of the regeneration projects on private sector funding and a booming housing market. It finds that “as property prices plunged, Public-Private-Partnerships mostly collapsed, except for Fatima Mansions, which was largely completed”.
Speaking at the seminar the Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan said she was looking to channel European Investment Bank funding and future structural funds into new phases of regeneration. She said:
One of my priorities as Housing Minister has been to sustain the national regeneration programme. This year the programme will see €80 million invested in transforming some the most marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
The breakdown of the budget allocated by the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government for regeneration in 2013 is:
The minister added that transforming a community is “about more than just bricks and mortar”. She said “the physical deterioration of a community is often a symbol of the unravelling of the social fabric, as it strains against the forces of poverty, unemployment, prejudice and exclusion”.
According to the Department of the Environment the net housing need figure for 2011 shows that 98,318 households were in need of social housing support. The latest figures are currently being consolidated by the department, but will not be available until later in the year.
The Department state there has not been a construction policy for new units for a number of years, with a spokesperson telling TheJournal.ie:
The reality of the situation is that other options like that of long-term leasing and other initiatives are a far better way of delivering housing. We have to consider what will deliver the most units for the best price.
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