Ms Caroline Timmons:

We have resourced all the local authorities with a full-time permanent vacant homes officer, VHO. In addition, we offer additional resources under the various grants, as well as resources for vacancy surveys. Each local authority can apply for that funding and 18 of them have already started. In fairness to Dublin City Council, it has been a leader, having carried out a vacancy survey back in 2018. Under the new national programme and the vacant homes units that have started, its staff have been receiving training in recent months and should be starting that survey to inform its vacancy programme and decide which properties it will activate. The resourcing is now in place and there is far more positivity across all the local authorities with regard to how they will approach it.