Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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193. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when the scheme to assist in the renovation of old buildings as announced in 2016 will be enacted. [10615/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Pillar 5 of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of Rebuilding Ireland commits to the development of a National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy by the first quarter of 2017, informed by Census 2016 data, to

- inform the compilation of a register of vacant units across the country,

- identify the number, location and reasons for longer-term vacancies (i.e. over 6 months) in high demand areas, and

- set out a range of actions to bring vacant units back into reuse.

To this end, the Housing Agency, which has lead responsibility for coordinating the development of the Strategy, established a working group in September 2016 comprising of senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and from the Housing Agency itself to inform the Strategy. The Group is due to report by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

An important action that would have a significant impact in the regeneration of vacant properties is the Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS), which has been developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant properties across Ireland. The scheme is targeted at owners of vacant properties who cannot afford or access the funding needed to bring their properties up to the required standard for rental property. Subject to the suitability of the property for social housing, and the agreement of the property owner, the cost of the necessary repairs will be met upfront by the local authority or an Approved Housing Body (AHB). This allows for the property owner to sign-up to a lease arrangement for a length that is linked to the value of the repairs, subject to a minimum of 10 years. The value of the repairs will then be offset incrementally against the agreed rental payment over a defined period within the lease.

Following on from the success of the initial pilot in Waterford and Carlow local authorities, last week I announced that the pilot Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) was being rolled out on a national basis from 23 February 2017.

I am making an additional €26m available to fund this scheme in 2017, which brings the total amount available this year to €32m. This additional investment in 2017 means that delivery under the scheme can be accelerated and up to 800 vacant properties can be brought back into use as new homes for families on local authority waiting lists this year. This funding represents a frontloading of the €140m being made available for the scheme over the next 5 years. Over the period 2016 to 2021, it is anticipated that up to 3,500 units will be secured for social housing under this scheme.

I will be carefully monitoring the scheme in 2017 to ensure that it works and is cost effective. Likewise, this analysis will assist in determining its delivery potential for future years, as well as whether additional financial resources are required in that context.

The Repair and Leasing Scheme is one of a number of initiatives in Rebuilding Ireland to address vacant properties around the country. Other initiatives including the Buy and Renew scheme will operate in parallel to harness the maximum potential of vacant properties available for social housing. The full details of the Buy and Renew Scheme initiative are being finalised and will be communicated to local authorities shortly. I have made an initial €25 million available for this initiative this year and propose to increase this to as much as €50 million in 2018, depending on the uptake. I expect this investment to deliver between 400 and 500 renewed houses for social housing use. The initiative may present opportunities for local authorities and approved housing bodies to tackle dereliction in towns and urban areas, but prospective housing units will always need to be suitable for social housing use, in an area of need and represent reasonable value for money.