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

We wish them well.

I will touch on a couple of matters. We are not opposing the motion. We believe that in respect of much that is in the motion, work is already under way. As Senator Cummins has said, we welcome the debate on the subject, particularly since the publication of Housing for All and the vacant home action plan last year. On a practical level, I am calling to local authorities almost one by one - last week, I was with Dublin City Council - specifically on the area of dereliction and vacancy. I have asked all local authorities to set up dedicated units specifically to deal with dereliction and vacancy. Some local authorities are very proactive and others are slow, but they are all going into that position. We have told local authorities that if they require additional resources to tackle vacancy and dereliction, they should make an application to the Department. We want applications and will consider any application. We have given funding to local authorities that have applied.

I find a contrast when I travel around. Some local authorities have adequate staff in this area and others do not. Some have dedicated teams. Every local authority has a vacant homes officer. Depending on the size of the authority, it may also have a town regeneration officer. Those authorities that are effective have teams and technicians involved. They go through the derelict sites legislation, which is far easier to work from. I accept that the CPO legislation is cumbersome but it is workable. Local authorities are using it. Limerick City and County Council is using CPOs. It has a revolving fund. It is already ahead of the €150 million in urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, funding we have provided. That €150 million is spread among all local authorities to eventually bring back 4,000 units. We want those local authorities to roll it over two and a half or three times. They buy units and sell them on, we hope to first-time buyers or for other uses. We want, in particular, first-time buyers because we want people to come and live in these units. The funding is there.

Senator Warfield referenced the Croí Cónaithe scheme, for which we had an initial target of approval to bring back 2,000 homes by the end of 2025. We have upped that target to 4,000 homes. There are 5,100 applications for this relatively new scheme. Some 2,500 of those applications have been approved. The number paid out to date is only 41. It is a slow process but, by definition, the work takes a period of time. Why is the Croí Cónaithe scheme working? It is a simple, straightforward scheme. For a house that has been vacant for more than two years and was built pre-2008, an applicant will automatically get €50,000, which can be applied for through the local authority. If the house is deemed to be derelict, the applicant will get a further €20,000 on top, to bring the amount to €70,000. Furthermore, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grants will be available. We upped that grant from €30,000 to €50,000 for vacancy and from €50,000 to €70,000 for dereliction. We have extended the scheme so that people can rent those houses if they do them up. I strongly believe that schemes must be kept simple. When we were looking at enhancing the Croí Cónaithe scheme, our discussions involved further complexity and I would not allow at. Schemes must be straightforward. We want people to look at the Croí Cónaithe scheme and think they can buy a house that is vacant and do it up with a grant of either €50,000 or €70,000, and perhaps a bit more on top.

For the CPO scheme as it currently stands, every local authority now has a vacant homes officer. Some have applied for additional resources. If local authorities want to ramp up and are serious about it, I ask them to apply to the Department.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has announced that the local authority home loan scheme has been extended to houses that qualify under the Croí Cónaithe scheme. I apologise. It has been extended to cover units that are unhabitable. Up to now, houses had to habitable. They could be second-hand. Equally, they could qualify for the Croí Cónaithe scheme. CPOs are happening. We are always looking to strengthen. When I came into the role and travelled around, everyone was saying the CPO legislation was unworkable. That is not the case. Look at the local authorities that are making it work. It can work; local authorities just need to understand the legislation. Senator Cummins made reference to the fact that Waterford City and County Council is doing a good job. It is a leader in respect of the repair and lease scheme. Local authorities should all be asked to do a workshop with Waterford City and County Council because it understands the use of CPOs. There is expertise there. In many cases, local authorities should interact with Limerick City and County Council on dereliction. It has set up this revolving scheme.

Reference has been made to the Land Development Agency, LDA. We want to maximise delivery of social and affordable housing on State-owned land through the LDA. We want the agency to get into various spaces. The register of relevant public lands is available on the agency's website. It shows the extent of all relevant public lands.

On social homes, we have given funding to bring back voids. We want over 2,300 units brought back this year. Over €30 million has been granted in funding. We want to see those houses coming back quickly. If there are issues in local authorities whereby those properties are not coming back, I ask them to let us know. At the end of the day, it is about following up.

Reference was made by Senator McDowell to activating lands. The residential land zone tax was introduced. We have deferred it for a year because there are matters we need to resolve in that area. We are bringing in the land value sharing tax. The vacant site tax is in place. There is also a vacant home tax.

On scaling up in the construction sector, it is perhaps overlooked that more than 22,000 units have been completed this year. We are going to exceed our targets this year. We exceeded our targets last year and will do so again next year. There is momentum in all areas at the moment. More than 5,100 units are coming through under the Croí Cónaithe scheme alone. That scheme has been up and running for a relatively short period. The extension of the scheme has been in place for an even shorter period. The scheme allows people up to 30 months to complete. One cannot expect that grants will be paid out overnight, but 2,500 applications have been approved.

On the construction sector, we are encouraging innovation and modern methods of construction. There had been an 8% increase in construction sector employment by the end of quarter 2. More than 170,000 are employed in the sector, which is significant. We provided €67 million in investments in apprenticeship schemes in the most recent budget to allow craft apprenticeships to continue to grow from 13,000 last year to 16,000 next year. The construction sector's capacity to build at scale is increasing. Under the action plan for apprenticeships, we have a target of 10,000 apprentices per annum by 2025. We have increased the vacant home tax from three times to five times the local property tax charge.

Reference was made to vacancy data. Depending on where they are reported, the figures are different. However, the momentum is towards reduction. That is a common thread. I want to brief Senators on the data available on vacancy rates nationwide. Data on vacancy are available from a number of sources, including the Central Statistics Office, CSO, GeoDirectory and local property tax returns. Different definitions, parameters and methodology are used in each case. The preliminary findings for the 2022 census provided a figure of 166,000 vacant homes, representing 7.8% of the housing stock.GeoDirectory classified 81,712 dwellings as vacant in quarter 2, with a national vacancy rate of 3.9%. It is the lowest residential vacancy rate ever recorded by the GeoDirectory residential building report. Revenue analysis of local property tax estimated that 57,206 properties, or 3.2%, were indicated to be vacant by their owners. While there are different levels of vacancy according to the different data sources, the overall trend is downwards; vacancy levels are reducing. The reasons for vacancy are complex. I remain confident that the suite of measures in vacancy and dereliction are working.

Senator Wall spoke about bringing older vacant units back into use and I am in favour of giving that as much priority as building new properties. In many cases it is just as good value. In many cases people who are looking to buy a home can buy a second-hand home more cheaply, not always but it is an option and we want to give people options. Second, it regenerates areas, whether they be urban or rural. There is no geographic limitation. The Croí Cónaithe scheme was originally only for towns, but it has been extended to villages, cities and rural areas.

Senator Sherlock mentioned the vacant homes tax.

Senator Moynihan spoke about the €150 million URDF. Its objective is that the local authorities buy vacant properties, turn them around and sell them for people to live in.

Senator Cummins said some of the schemes are slightly cumbersome, but they are working. The grants have gone up. Other local authorities need to plug into the level of expertise on the repair and lease scheme that Waterford City and County Council has.

Senator McDowell referred to Dublin City Council. I have asked the council to increase the number of people it has to deal with dereliction and vacancy and to put in applications in that area.

Senator Warfield spoke about the Croí Cónaithe scheme, which I just dealt with.

Senator Wall spoke about housing adaptation grants. We have given additional funding this year to any local authority that has looked for it. There are two aspects to this, the provision of funding and the level of the grants. We have given additional funding to many local authorities that requested it this year. If Senators know of local authorities that want additional funding, they should tell them to apply to the Department. We are looking at a review that was done before I was appointed. We are in negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to try to get increases in the limits. I hope to bring that to conclusion reasonably quickly.

Senator Boyhan has referred in the past to the report of the joint committee. We value the work of the committee and take it on board.

The Department will consider the full contents of the Labour Party motion. We welcome it. We always try to add value, so we will consider it seriously. We have already implemented measures in many of the areas. Compulsory purchase orders are a good example of a system that is working. If a local authority says it cannot make it work, I do not buy it. I urge any such local authority to talk to the local authorities that are making it work. Ultimately, this is about practicalities. If a system works, we have to drive on. It is incumbent on everyone, including Ministers, Ministers of State, Members of the Oireachtas and stakeholders such as the local authorities, to work with the systems that are in place. Can they be enhanced? Absolutely, they can, over time, but we also have to deal with the issues now.

As I said, the Government does not oppose the motion.