John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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482. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he or his Department considered a town centre renewal initiative as part of the strategy for the rental sector in order to fast track the return of vacant stock into use in our town and village centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33465/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Strategy for the Rental Sector did not specifically consider a town centre renewal initiative.  However, the Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, set out the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration by the Government, incorporating a series of specific actions aimed at facilitating the regeneration of our urban centres.

The Government’s Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, published in July 2016, further reinforces the Government’s commitment to the area of urban regeneration.  A number of measures  were included in Rebuilding Ireland, particularly under Pillar 5, aimed at bringing vacant housing stock into re-use and have already been launched, including the Repair and Leasing Scheme and the Buy and Renew Scheme.

The Repair and Leasing 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 up to a maximum of €40,000 will be met up-front by the local authority or an approved housing body (AHB). In recognition of both the critical demand for units and the potential the RLS has to offer, an additional €26m was assigned to fund the 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.

The Buy and Renew Scheme supports local authorities and AHBs to purchase and renew vacant dwellings that require remediation, and make them available for social housing use in areas of housing need. The focus under this scheme, is on older stock, and in particular derelict properties which, when complete, will improve streetscapes in towns and other urban areas as well as providing much needed accommodation. Up to €25 million is available for the ‘Buy and Renew’ Scheme in 2017 and depending on take-up, could increase up to €50 million in 2018. 

In addition, a €70m rolling fund has been made available to the Housing Agency to enable it to purchase vacant properties from the portfolios of financial institutions and investors for social housing use.

To drive forward these and other considerations, a Ministerial-led Working Group was established to bring forward proposals for new urban regeneration measures.  It is intended that the new measures would complement the existing regeneration programme under my Department’s Social Housing Capital Programme, as well as other social regeneration initiatives already under way. The Working Group is considering a number of town centre renewal initiatives, and is assessing the capacity of existing or new funding streams before finalising its recommendations.

To further assist in the area of urban regeneration, my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, launched the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in August 2016, with an initial allocation of €10 million in funding.  In this regard, a sum of €380,000 was made available to each of the 31 local authorities under the initial phase of the scheme, and a full list of towns benefitting under the scheme is available on that Department's website, at the following link:

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Increased funding of €12 million has been provided in 2017 to enhance this scheme, with a view to increasing the attractiveness and sustainability of our towns and villages as places in which to live and work.

Finally, the Deputy may be aware of the Retail Consultation Forum, chaired by my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which launched its new “Framework for Town Centre Renewal” on 25 April 2017, incorporating an Action Plan to support Town Centre Renewal.