John Cummins (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for coming to the House this morning to take this Commencement matter. I am sure he will agree with me that tackling vacancy and dereliction across our cities, towns, villages and rural countryside is something of great importance. It is a passion of mine. I have worked constructively since my election to this House and my appointment to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to engage with Department officials and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, on a number of proposals, some of which have been acted on and some of which are still under consideration. I hop that by tabling this Commencement matter this morning, we can move the dial on one particular scheme which has the potential to do a whole lot more.

In my county of Waterford, we have had tremendous success with schemes such as the repair and lease scheme, the buy and renew scheme and, to a lesser extent, the Living City initiative, which has been extended in budget 2023 to the end of 2027 and which is a welcome move. The benefits of bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into productive use are huge. It cleans up streetscapes, provides much-needed homes and is environmentally sound because it results in less carbon as it reuses what is already there.

The Croí Cónaithe towns and villages fund has been very well received across the country. I understand that local authorities have had very strong interest from prospective property owners looking to bring vacant and derelict properties back into productive use. With success of television programmes, such as "Room to Improve", "The Great House Revival" and "Cheap Irish Homes", we have seen what is possible when we think outside the box in delivering our dream home.

The obvious difficulty with vacant and derelict properties is that one does not know what is going to be there when one opens the property up. That is why this scheme, which provides a grant support of up to €50,000, is so welcome. The fact that it can be combined with measures such as Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grants gives people the potential to have a significant portion of the costs of renovation covered through grant aid, which is very important for young individuals and couples in particular who are trying to get their foot on the ladder.Not everybody wants to own or can afford to own a brand-new home in a city or a town. The target under the scheme of 2,000 properties by the end of 2025 is not ambitious enough. We should be aiming to deliver a multiple of that but we will not do that if we do not expand the scheme to rural one-off houses and to cities and suburbs. I hope the Minister of State will be able to give a positive response as to the direction of travel in this space. The benefit of supporting rural one-off vacant and derelict properties is huge. It benefits rural communities, brings people back into the areas and supports the services, clubs and schools in those areas. The ideology within the Department that we should not support the renovation of rural one-off houses, in particular, needs to be consigned to the dustbin, to be quite frank. We need to be more ambitious with this scheme. It is an excellent scheme that is there to support first-time buyers in owning their own houses but we need to expand it to our cities and suburbs and to rural one-off houses.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Thank you Senator Cummins. I call on the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming, to respond.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Cummins for raising this important issue and allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on this matter. Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties, which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy to, and provide new accommodation in, those areas. The Croí Cónaithe towns fund is a key initiative that underpins the policy objectives set out in pathway 4 of Housing for All. Schemes under this fund, which are delivered by local authorities, will provide new choices for people to live in towns and villages in Ireland through the provision of a grant to support the refurbishment of vacant properties and by providing serviced sites in towns and villages to people in order to build their own homes.

On 14 July this year, the vacant property refurbishment grant, funded by the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched. The scheme will be of benefit to those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence. It is important to note it is not for rental purposes; you must live in the house. The grant of up to €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, including the conversion of a property which was not previously used as residential. An additional maximum top-up grant of €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000. On that, if the house is on the council's derelict register, that is sufficient. If it is not on the register, the applicant can get a commercial consultant to provide a report stating it is derelict and the local vacant homes officer will then come out and inspect it. Once that is agreed, it can fall under the scheme. It does not have to already be on the derelict register.

On 21 September, the ready-to-build scheme, also funded by Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched. Under the scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers to build their own homes. These sites will be available at a discount on the market value of the site for the building of the property for occupation as the principal private residence of the purchaser. When the fund was launched, a commitment was made to ongoing review of the scheme. Feedback on the vacant property refurbishment scheme to date has been overwhelmingly positive, with 169 applications submitted up to the start of September.

Given that the key objective of pathway 4 of Housing for All is to ensure that houses we already have are being fully utilised, a decision has been made to extend the eligibility of the vacant property refurbishment grant to vacant properties in both our cities and rural areas. This is a significant development. I want to take the opportunity to confirm this. The Minister announced it at the National Ploughing Championships recently. Both schemes under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund will continue to be only for those who intend to occupy the property as their principal private residence. Officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will work with the vacant homes officer in each of the local authorities in the coming weeks to update details of this grant, with a view to expanding the scheme. We hope to have that major expansion available in November of this year.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I call Senator Cummins.

John Cummins (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his very positive response to this Commencement matter. I stand corrected but my understanding from what the Minister previously said in relation to this was that it would be expanded to cities. However, it was not actually stated that it would be expanded to rural one-off houses. The fact the Minister of State is confirming that this morning is hugely welcome. It will be welcomed by local authorities right across the country and by young individuals and couples who are seeking to get their foot on the property ladder.

The Minister of State also referenced the flexibility in the top-up amount of €20,000. That is really positive as well, because there was a misconception at the start that it had to be on the derelict sites register. The fact that you can get a structural engineer to state that significant structural works need to be carried out to access the additional top-up is hugely welcome.

I really want to thank the Minister of State for the positive response. The fact that it will be open to all derelict and vacant properties across the State will enable us to expand on that 2,000 target up to 2025.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Cummins. I call on the Minister of State for a final word on the matter.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I want to join the Senator in welcoming this good news. When I was asked to stand in for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage this morning, I spoke at length with officials to confirm the details. Like everybody in rural areas, as soon as the scheme came out and was extended to villages of 400 or 500 people, we were immediately asked about the derelict houses in rural areas. This announcement by the Minister that it will be extended to rural areas is fantastic. They are now working with the vacant homes officers. Some 25 of the 31 local authorities have full-time vacant homes officers in place; the others need to get one in place urgently. I would advise people to work with the vacant homes officer in the local authority to progress this scheme. Discussions are ongoing. It will be November before the final details are available.

Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and Senator Cummins.

While we await the Minister for Senator Buttimer's Commencement matter, I would like to welcome the young people and their teachers in the Gallery. It is wonderful to have them here. They are witnessing the part of the day, known as Commencement Matters, where Senators raise particular issues with Ministers and get responses. They are in the Houses of democracy and I hope some day one of them will be here representing their community.