Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree with the Deputy. Preliminary data from the census indicate there are approximately 200,000 vacant properties when holiday homes are excluded. The figure may be slightly lower but, either way, this area presents an immense opportunity. For this reason, the Minister announced a couple of initiatives to fast-track our approach. We are putting processes in place. We held two workshops, engaged with all the local authorities and met their chief executives and asked them to pursue vacant properties. The funding and schemes to do so are in place and an additional €32 million has been allocated to the repair and lease-back initiative this year. This could bring more than 1,000 properties into use because the figures the Deputy cited assume full cost.

The Government will make it as easy as possible to bring vacant properties into use. For example, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys, recently announced another scheme to tackle vacant properties. The Housing Agency is trying to purchase more than 400 vacant properties and has been provided with a budget of €70 million, of which €60 million could be spent on the properties it has viewed thus far. Much is being done in this area and the Department is open to doing more but we need local authorities to engage. I cannot stress enough that local authority members have an opportunity to find vacant properties, bring them into the system and make them available. That is what we want to happen.

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