There were mixed reactions to the provisions for housing announced in yesterday's Budget, with the National Youth Council expressing disappointment on the measures dealing with rented housing, while Threshold described the allocations as "insufficient to meet current housing needs".
Welcoming the allocations, the Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Bobby Molloy, said extra funding and increased resources would bring the total provision for housing in 2000 to more than £800 million (€10.15 million).
The allocation for the local authority and social housing programme is £512 million, an increase of £166 million on 1999 - an allocation which would allow for 5,500 housing starts in 2000, he said. Of next year's provision of £97 million for area-based regeneration of social housing, £70 million had been earmarked for the Ballymun Regeneration Project, he added.