Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Urban and Rural Regeneration: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Maria Graham:

Yes. It is any level of vacancy or dereliction that could be brought into use. It could be brought into use for residential purposes or as part of the economic development of the town. We would be looking at a locality and the levels of dereliction and vacancy so I am being a bit prescriptive with criteria that we will work through with local authorities before finalising. In some cases, the vacant homes are population-dispersed. We are really looking at where there is a significant level of vacancy that may relate to the fact that the area of the town has become derelict or less attractive, if that makes sense.