Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question and his support for the ongoing efforts to tackle vacancy and dereliction in his constituency. On his question on vacant homes officers, all 31 local authorities now have a full-time vacancy officer in place, fulfilling one of the Housing for All commitments. Each local authority receives an annual fund of up to €60,000 to support the work of the vacant homes officers. That was an important step forward in addressing each of the issues within local authorities.

A derelict and vacant sites register is in the ownership of each local authority. I am sure that if the Deputy engages with the director of services or county manager in each local authority, he will see that he or she manages the sites at local level, not through the Department.

With regard to the Croí Cónaithe towns fund and the revised manual related to supports available to property owners, there has been substantial work on the range of schemes and supports now in place. These include the vacant property refurbishment grant, the repair-and-lease scheme, the living city initiative, the historic buildings grant scheme, the SEAI supports, thatch grants and planning exemptions. There are so many schemes now available that it can be difficult for some owners to activate one at times.

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