James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

It is madness and should not be happening.

Of course, in line with local authorities' best practice and with regard to rental standards, whether a house is old or has a long-standing tenant in situ, it should be inspected and improvement works carried out at regular intervals to prevent excessive maintenance costs and delay when the property becomes vacant. To that end, my Department and colleagues across the local authority sector are working to transition from a largely reactive response and a void-based approach to stock management and maintenance to a planned maintenance approach. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response. My Department will support these work programmes by ensuring that the funding available under the various stock improvement programmes is aligned with this approach.

In consecutive years, my Department has ring-fenced €5 million for planned maintenance under the planned maintenance of voids programme. This has been doubled to €10 million for 2025. I hope to increase it further in future years. This funding has supported the implementation of an ICT asset management system for the local authority sector, which, as I mentioned earlier, is now available, with all 31 local authorities on board. This investment is also available to provide a funding contribution for the completion of stock condition surveys while simultaneously funding planned maintenance works that arise from these surveys. This approach will also ensure that the properties are returned to productive use as quickly as possible while allowing more extensive works to be carried out on a cyclical basis.

From an asset management perspective, local authorities are moving to a position whereby properties are inspected and maintained at regular intervals.

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