Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister outline how she envisages the community ownership fund will work? I appreciate it is in the work programme for 2022.

I speak in relation to vacant buildings in the possession of the likes of the Office of Public Works, OPW. There are 75 of them in the State that are currently vacant and many of them are former Garda stations. Some will be auctioned off this month. These vacant properties lie in rural towns and villages throughout the State. I know the OPW has made the list available to the Department. At what level has she examined that? Has she considered options for using the vacant properties? They should be used within the community as much as possible rather than being auctioned off to the highest bidder. What engagement has she had with the OPW on this? Would she consider using those vacant properties?

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