Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together.

A range of measures to assist in meeting Ireland's housing needs by ensuring that our existing housing stock is used to the greatest extent possible were set out in pillar 5 of Rebuilding Ireland. An overarching action within that pillar was the commitment to develop a national vacant homes reuse strategy. This strategy was published by my Department in July 2018 and strives to provide a targeted, effective and co-ordinated approach to identifying and tackling vacancy across the country. It draws together all of the strands of ongoing work into this document.

Local authorities have been and continue to be encouraged to utilise all available supports and develop new approaches to ensuring that existing housing stock across the country is utilised to the fullest capacity. This has resulted in the development of innovative responses to dealing with vacancy, such as the website vacanthomes.iedeveloped by Mayo County Council in July 2017 on behalf of the local government sector. This site acts as a central portal for individuals to log possible vacant homes and has proven useful in supplementing the country-wide analysis on vacancy and in mobilising local communities to assist local authorities in developing and implementing a targeted approach. Some 4,220 properties have been registered to date. The website provides useful information for property owners on how to bring their vacant properties back into use and available financial supports.

The supports available to bring vacant stock back into use include a number of schemes developed by my Department to incentivise reactivating suitable dwellings into livable housing stock. In that regard, at the end of 2019 a total of 1,540 applications for the repair and leasing scheme had been received from property owners. Some 165 of those homes have been brought back into use and were tenanted. Since the introduction of the buy and renew scheme, it has helped local authorities to purchase 529 vacant properties to accommodate households seeking social support. In January 2017, my Department established a revolving acquisitions fund of €70 million managed by the Housing Agency, which has facilitated 840 properties being made available to approved housing bodies to accommodate households seeking social housing supports. Some 51 additional properties are currently in the process of being secured. The Housing Agency has also assisted local authorities in acquiring a further 468 vacant properties from financial institutions for social housing purposes, with a further 211 currently in the process of being secured as social housing. Therefore, in addition to the almost 700 properties brought back into use to date under the buy and renew and repair and lease schemes, more than 1,500 other vacant properties held by financial institutions have been secured or are currently in the process of being secured for social housing.

Tackling vacancy will continue to be the focus of targeted attention by my Department through the ongoing implementation of measures set out in the national vacant housing reuse strategy. That is an overarching roadmap and focal point for the co-ordination and implementation of initiatives right across government to ensure we are utilising our existing housing stock to the fullest extent possible. To that end, it facilitates actions to return as many recoverable vacant properties back into viable use as possible, increasing supply of sustainable housing while also revitalising the vibrancy of our local communities.

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