Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the timeline of the completion of the stock audit across all local authorities. [24904/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State provide the timeline for the completion of the stock survey across all local authorities?

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. There is no question that utilising existing stock at a time of such need is just as important as developing new social housing stock. The programme for Government commits to the introduction of a new voids programme and also to supporting the ongoing work to transition to a strategic and informed maintenance approach to the management and maintenance of our local authority housing stock based on stock condition surveys. The new programme will build on the successes of the voids programme over the past ten years, which has seen an investment of more than €360 million of Exchequer funding, which has supported the refurbishment and re-letting of some 25,672 dwellings. It will also have a renewed focus on improving re-let times and local authority performance and supporting the transition to that planned maintenance approach.

Regarding the stock condition surveys of local authority homes, work surveys have already begun in many local authorities. These surveys are crucial for an informed planned maintenance approach and are supported by specialist ICT infrastructure that has been procured and rolled out across the majority of local authorities, with the remainder in progress. It will take time to work through the full programme of planned condition surveys but it is the appropriate approach to move to more planned maintenance on a cyclical basis while also working with local authorities to ensure there is a quicker re-let time in the provision of existing housing stock. It should not be the case that significant numbers come into the voids programme at a time when, over the past number of years, we have spent a considerable amount of money on our voids programme.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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On 11 November 2021, the former Minister informed me in a parliamentary question answer that the stock audit would take place across all local authorities and would take four to five years. As the Minister of State pointed out, that would have allowed for a planned maintenance programme for 2022 and 2023 - we are at least two, if not three, years behind schedule - and the voids programme to end. The Minister of State just commented on the voids programme. A maximum of only €11,000 can be claimed per unit under it. Local authorities are leaving the voids, or boarded-up houses, as they should be called, empty for years, destroying communities, causing dirt and antisocial behaviour, and affecting the environment people are living in all because the Government will not give the money. I was in Kevin Street flats and Pearse Street flats yesterday. It is a disgrace that the Government is not giving the money. There 79 apartments between the two blocks that are empty right now. Across the whole State, there are more than 4,000 board-up houses and the Government has only allocated enough to do less than half - 45% - yet the Minister of State is talking about planned maintenance.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy's question asked about planned maintenance, so that is the answer I gave. We want to move towards more of a planned maintenance approach, which is appropriate. We do not want to see voids left for significant periods. Huge amounts of money have been spent in the voids programme but we want to move to a planned maintenance approach so that we can re-let council properties and reuse our existing stock to the fullest. As per the latest NOAC report from 2023, the performance of some local authorities is better than others in re-letting properties. It goes from 13.27 weeks in Laois to 65 weeks in Kerry. Something is clearly happening in Laois that is not happening in Kerry. It is not to pick on those two local authorities, but they are the outliers. There are many in between. We have to move to a planned maintenance approach and away from the voids approach. At the same time, we are committed to giving considerable money to the voids programme because we see the value in it.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. He said the majority of local authorities were carrying these surveys out. How many local authorities have carried them out? How much of the stock has been surveyed? Are there available figures that the Minister of State can provide me? Cork City Council has 11,000 properties. As far as I know, no stock survey has been done and the Government want to get rid of the voids programme.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I did not say that.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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In 2021, the then Minister said it and that the maintenance scheme would be put in place in 2022 and 2023. The Government said that. Is the Minister of State now disagreeing with what the previous Minister said?

We are looking for facts and figures. When will the surveys be done? I have some figures, so I will give the Minister of State an idea of the allocations. The Government is allocating €67.23 per house for local authorities to do a stock maintenance and planning survey.

David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Sorry, Deputy----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I will provide one more figure. In the area of maintenance, the cost is reckoned to be €1,200, but the Government is giving €63.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I would appreciate if the Deputy did not misrepresent me on the floor of the Dáil. What I actually said was that we wanted to move to a more planned maintenance approach. It is not that we are eliminating the voids programme. We have spent a considerable amount of money on it over the past number of years and will continue to do so, but we want a more planned maintenance approach and to move to a more cyclical maintenance in local authorities.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Government has to fund it, though.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I did not interrupt Deputy Gould. Is he going to continue shouting people down? If the Deputy asks a question, I would appreciate it if he gave me the respect of being able to answer it. From 2022, to the end of 2024, local authorities carried out approximately 5,793 stock condition surveys. In 2025, more than €10 million has been provided to local authorities for planned maintenance. We will continue to move to that approach and continue to support local authorities through the voids programme.