Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1176. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of properties compulsorily purchased or in which the CPO process has been initiated by the local authorities to provide social housing by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1394/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not collected by my Department, as the approval or confirmation of proposals for the compulsory purchase of land or property by statutory authorities is a matter for An Bord Pleanala.

In this regard, the 2017 Annual Report of the Board, which is the latest report available, outlines that there was an increase in 2017 in the number of compulsory acquisition cases to come before the Board, including acquisitions for housing purposes. Much of this increase is attributable to the increased use of compulsory purchase order powers by local authorities to acquire individual vacant or derelict houses for social housing purposes, which is a positive development.

Local authorities are encouraged to adopt a proactive approach in utilising their available legislative powers for compulsory purchase, where necessary, with the aim of bringing the greatest number of recoverable long term vacant dwellings back into the livable housing stock. In many cases, however, the use of CPO powers is not necessary as agreement to purchase can be reached between the local authority and the property owner. To assist local authorities in pursuing vacant properties, my Department introduced the Buy & Renew Scheme to facilitate them in acquiring and remediating vacant properties that may be suitable for social housing. Through this support mechanism, local authorities have delivered over 250 social housing units to date and I am keen to see further delivery in this way.

As with standard acquisitions, local authorities have delegated responsibility to utilise the Buy & 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.

In the event that the Deputy wishes to obtain further information on CPOs from An Bord Pleanala, arrangements have been put in place by each Agency under the remit of my Department, including An Bord Pleanála, to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email address for An Bord Pleanála isoireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.