More funds may be made available for social housing in the Budget after the Government's estimates for 2002 provided for an 8 per cent increase to €956.35 million (£753.19 million).
The allocation was immediately condemned by Mr Eamon Gilmore, the Labour Party's environment spokesman, who said it represented no real increase on the current year, despite the extent of the housing crisis.
But the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, insisted it would enable 6,000 local authority houses to be completed in 2002, compared to 5,000 this year, and would boost the output of the voluntary sector to 1,500 units.
He said it would allow continued investment in housing regeneration projects, such as Ballymun, as well as providing start-up costs of a residential tenancies board, additional funding to accommodate the homeless and more housing aid for the elderly.
Overall, the Department of the Environment's estimate, at €3.1 billion, is 7 per cent higher than the current year - with administration costs rising by 12 per cent, due to higher salaries and the development of on-line services for motor tax.
Water and sewerage are up 7.5 per cent to €451.65 million, enabling work to continue on such major infrastructural schemes as the Dublin Bay Project, Mutton Island, in Galway Bay, and main drainage schemes for Cork, Limerick and Waterford.
Areas where cuts have been implemented include environmental services (down 1 per cent to €20.713 million), libraries (down 3 per cent) and An Bord Pleanβla (down 13 per cent to €10.232 million, reflecting a fall-off in planning appeals.
The biggest cut of all is under the architectural heritage heading, where the allocation is down 44 per cent to €3.4 million, due to "slower than anticipated progress over past two years." But urban regeneration is up 106 per cent to €53.3 million.
The Minister noted that the National Safety Council's budget has been increased by 27 per cent on the current year's estimate, mainly to assist its road safety awareness programme, which is aimed at reducing the high level of accidents and fatalities.
In his statement, Mr Gilmore said he found it "puzzling" that there was no increase in the allocation for the Flood Tribunal.
Reacting to his call on the Minister to reaffirm the Government's commitment that the tribunal would receive all the resources necessary to complete its task, a spokesman for Mr Dempsey noted that the tribunal's estimate was up by €200,000 to €5.9 million.
