Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government

Housing Rental Sector Strategy: Discussion

11:00 am

Mr. David Silke:

I will say a few words about vacant properties generally and then address over-the-shop properties in more detail. Pillar five of Rebuilding Ireland is about using our existing stock. The Housing Agency is drafting a strategy around vacant homes and is at an advanced stage in this regard. It will be finished by the end of March 2017. We are looking at where the vacant properties are and the data we have and are trying to identify why they are vacant as a first step in developing a policy to address that. We are very active in that area at the moment.