Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Garvey for raising this issue. I certainly recall those programme for Government discussions. I brought the town centre first policy. I tried to replicate it from the Scottish experience. It was a critical component of the programme for Government, as is tackling vacancy. The programme for Government commits to examining ways to ensure that unused or underused building stock in urban centres can be made available for much-needed housing. As Minister of State with responsibility for heritage, I see this as I travel the country. I see 19th-century building stock, probably 100,000-plus buildings, that are pre-1922 that have amazing potential right across our towns and could meet an awful lot of our housing needs.

Initiatives we have taken to bring such properties back into use include extending exemptions for certain vacant commercial premises, including over the shop spaces, and making it easier to convert these properties to residential use. The scope of the exemptions has been extended to include public houses.

The town centre first policy was launched in February 2022 to tackle vacancy and dereliction and breathe new life into our towns. Town regeneration officers have been appointed and 26 town centre first plans, produced by town teams, were launched at the national town centre first day on 28 February 2024. Additional funding has been announced for a new round of TCF plans and a range of national and local support structures have been established.

Regarding the area of commercial vacancy, while measures under the town centre first policy will go towards enabling towns to tackle commercial vacancy, my Department has also convened a working group to assess and make recommendations related to the potential for the development of vacant commercial properties for housing. It is anticipated the working group will submit recommendations to the Minister in quarter 2 of 2024.

Building on the programme for Government, Housing for All sets out a suite of measures to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing building stock in urban and rural areas. The vacant property refurbishment grant was launched by my Department in July 2022. It provides support of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties, including over the shop residential units.A further €20,000 is available where the property is derelict. Uptake and feedback on the grant have been very positive, with more than 6,700 applications received and more than 3,800 applications approved. Grants are now being paid out as work is being completed. I see this as I travel around the country.

It is amazing to see some of the beautiful premises being brought back into use. To support the bringing of underused properties back into use, my Department announced funding of €150 million for local authorities under the urban regeneration development fund, URDF. This is specifically to acquire long-term vacant or derelict buildings, residential and commercial, in URDF eligible cities and towns for use or sale. This funding will also support the compulsory purchase order, CPO, activation programme which my Department launched in April 2023. An activation programme requires a proactive and systematic approach by local authorities, including the use of powers to acquire compulsorily unused and underused properties and bring them back into use. An overall target of 4,000 has been set for properties to enter the programme in 2023.