Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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196. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of local authority-owned homes vacant at present; and if he will provide in tabular form the figures by local authority area and the reasons for the vacancy. [45586/14]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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197. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will report on the work under way to make vacant local authority-owned homes available for new tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45587/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together.

Under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, the management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock is the responsibility of the relevant housing authority. Statistics on local authority housing stock, including units that may be empty, are published annually by the Local Government Management Agency. The most recent statistics are in respect of 2012 and are available at the following link: .

In April 2014, my Department allocated €15 million for works to refurbish a total of 952 vacant properties. A further €20 million was added for the Voids programme, under the Stimulus Package for the construction sector, with €15 million of this available this year. This investment of €30 million in 2014 will result in returning an overall target of 1,960 vacant and boarded up units to productive use, and in an energy efficient condition. The number of such units in each Local Authority area is set out in the table below.

Budget 2015 has given a further impetus to this area, and I envisage a further 1,000 vacant properties being returned to productive use through this additional funding.