Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will read out the written response and then address the specific case raised by the Deputy. With the ever-increasing demand for social housing accommodation to meet housing need, the management of vacant properties in local authorities is an important function. In accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, local authorities are legally responsible for the management and maintenance of their housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of planned maintenance programmes and the carrying out of responsive repairs.

Statistics published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, in its annual report on performance indicators in local authorities and relating to 2021, show that there are more than 140,000 local authority-owned social housing properties in the State. The proper management and maintenance of these State assets by local authorities is important. Returns from local authorities in 2022 indicated that 5,200 local authority properties, or less than 4% of the overall stock, were vacant on 1 January last year. However, it is important that any potential to get vacant units back into use quickly is pursued by local authorities with the utmost speed. The Deputy has highlighted examples in that regard.

Although local authorities have an obligation to manage and maintain their stock from their own funding, my Department supports bringing a targeted amount of vacant local authority dwellings back to use as quickly as possible each year through the voids programme, which is an additional support to local authorities in tackling vacant properties.

This programme was originally introduced to tackle long-term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock identified under the voids programme, separate from the Department's social housing regeneration programme.

With regard to Kerry County Council, as of the 31 December 2021, again in the context of the latest NOAC report, the percentage of the total number of local authority-owned dwellings that were vacant was 3.51%, making it the 19th lowest rate nationally out of 31 local authorities and slightly above the national average of 3.16% for local authority stock according to NOAC figures. I looked at the report. Total housing stock was 4,390. If we take 3.51%, we are looking at approximately 154 houses vacant at the end of December.

From 2014 to 2021, expenditure of €8 million was recouped by Kerry County Council under the voids programme, which funded the return to productive use of 723 units. If the Deputy looks at the report, he will see that it shows that 40 of those units were returned in 2022 and 50 were returned in 2021. The report is a public document.

With the available Exchequer support, I am keen that Kerry County Council and all other councils tackle vacancies and minimise turnaround times in order that properties can be re-let to those on the waiting lists. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, wrote to all local authorities last October requesting that they implement, as a matter of urgency, the appropriate range of measures to reduce the level of vacant stock and the time involved in letting new stock or re-letting existing stock.

Deputy Daly referred to Tobar Naofa, which comprises 56 units. He said that 46 of those are occupied but that three or four of the residents are in nursing homes. We can follow up on that matter.

I have outlined the overall situation in Kerry, but we can follow up the specific issue with Kerry County Council. If the Deputy wants to make a formal submission on it to me, we can communicate directly with the council on it.

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