Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

588. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the large number of vacant local authority houses which have been lying idle in south Kildare Athy-Monasterevin area for upwards of six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4995/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, Kildare County Council as housing authority is responsible for the management and maintenance of the local authority social housing stock for the area concerned . My Department assists local authorities in developing and maintaining their housing stock through various funding programmes . The effective management of vacant and boarded up social housing units is a key area for local authorities in making effective use of their existing social housing stock and for achieving best practice and value for money in housing management. To this end, my Department in 2014 funded a planned programme of returning vacant and boarded up properties to productive use, under which over 2,3 00 units were remediated nationally at a cost of €26.1 million. Kildare County Council received funding in excess of €500,000 under this programme and returned 49 vacant units back into productive use throughout the county, including 13 units in the Athy area.

For 2015, I will provide further support to local authorities to target 1,000 such units. My Department has recently requested all local authorities, including Kildare County Council , to submit a list of vacant properties for consideration for 2015 funding.

In addition , Kildare County Council also received funding approval of €833,000 under my Department’s 2014 Local Authority Construction and Acquisition Programme to purchase and refurbish 10 derelict properties in the Athy area and I understand that work on this project should be concluded in 2015.