Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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315. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of properties acquired by each local authority under the purchase and reuse scheme in 2017, in tabular form; the number of these homes that have been let to social tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4793/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides funding to local authorities to acquire a range of properties for social housing use. The properties involved can range from those in good condition to those that need remediation and may have been vacant. To ensure a local led response to such work, responsibility for property acquisitions is delegated to local authorities.

To further assist local authorities pursuing vacant properties, my Department introduced a Buy & Renew Scheme to facilitate local authorities in acquiring and remediating vacant properties that may be suitable for social housing. As with standard acquisitions, local authorities have delegated responsibility to utilise the Buy and Renew Scheme, as part of the blend of property acquisitions, as appropriate to their area, given housing need and the availability of properties of different types.

During 2017, provisional information shows that funding provided by my Department to local authorities supported the purchase of approximately 70 such homes under the scheme, details of which are set out in the following table.

I expect that over the course of 2018, further progress will be made in this area as local authorities close sales on properties identified during 2017 and put in place arrangements for their remediation to make them suitable for social housing use.

The allocation of social housing supports to qualified households is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with its allocation scheme made in accordance with section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Regulations.