Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for his question and all Members for their interest in this issue. Deputy O'Sullivan has advocated for this very strongly and we all recognise the importance of the Government giving assistance to those who can bring vacant and empty homes in our towns and villages back into use. We are within weeks of launching that fund. It will be managed through our local authorities. The Ministers of State, Deputies Burke and Noonan, and I want to make sure the process is as simple as possible. It will be done by way of a grant scheme for home owners.

Right across our country we have a resource in the form of empty housing stock that can breathe life back into our towns and villages and we should use it. Working this fund right the way through has been quite complex but we are nearly there on it. We got Cabinet approval on the fund itself on Tuesday last and will now move the cities and towns fund forward. It is a significant investment on behalf of the Exchequer, to the tune of €500 million. This will run between now and 2026 and we want to make sure it works.

The local authorities have been very supportive of this and will administer the fund and the applications. I want the application process to be simple and clear for people. This is another avenue through which we can ensure that our young and not-so-young people who aspire to owning their own homes and living in their own areas will be able to do so. It also speaks, and rightly so, to the policy that the Ministers of State, Deputies Burke and Noonan, launched recently, the town centre first initiative and supporting that. Our aim is to support growth within our towns and villages and this is a really significant step forward by this Government. This is a strong commitment in Housing for All and in the programme for Government and the fund will be launched within a matter of weeks. I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for his support and for advocating for these changes on behalf of his own constituents.

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