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

Housing for All, which was published in September 2021, provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030. Its overall objective is that every citizen in the State should have access to good-quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. The strategy sets out, in four pathways, a broad suite of measures to achieve its policy objectives, together with a financial commitment in excess of €4 billion per annum.

The suite of measures under the pathway to addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing stock includes the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, which will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of serviced sites for housing, to attract people to build their own homes and to support the refurbishment of vacant properties. The consideration of the approach to the Croí Cónaithe towns fund is at an advanced stage. It in proposed that this fund will provide 2,000 homes and sites by 2025.

In addition, a new local-authority-led programme to help local authorities buy or compulsorily purchase vacant homes which can then be sold on the open market, will ensure homes do not lie vacant. My Department is working with the Housing Agency on the underpinning steps to ensure and support this programme. The objective is for all local authorities to acquire at least 2,500 vacant units and present these to the market by 2026. All of these measures will have a transformative effect on the landscape and I look forward in particular to the launch of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund in the very near future.

Many of these measures are being balanced with the work currently under way with regard to having full-time vacant homes officers in situ in our 31 local authorities, as well as ensuring that we are acting on our compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, through the local authority network. We can see that Waterford and Louth are doing incredible work in that regard. We are waiting to hear from the Law Reform Commission in terms of what reforms can be made with regard to that. The Department of Finance is also working on a proposal for vacancy, on foot of the revaluation of the property tax.

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