Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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300. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are specific time periods during which local authorities can apply for funding to restore voids; and the number of such opportunities in 2019 and 2020. [5739/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including the cost of pre-letting repairs to vacant properties and the carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966 Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's Voids programme to support local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-letting.

Historically the programme has been administered through a “call for proposal” initiative where local authorities are invited to submit a funding request to support the return of vacant units to productive use within local authority ownership. Generally a single 'call for proposals' will issue early in the year. A second call may issue later in the year if additional funding is available.

In 2019, an initial call for proposals issued to local authorities. After a review of the submissions final allocations issued in August 2019. A second round of funding was also made available to local authorities who could complete additional units by the years end.

In March 2020, a call for proposals for COVID-19 related voids funding was issued to local authorities. 406 homes were returned to productive use as part of this programme with Exchequer funding of €3.7m recouped to local authorities.

As part of this Governments July Stimulus Package, I secured €40million of additional funding for the Voids programme in 2020 and a call for proposals issued in August. There was very strong uptake in this programme and significant work carried out by local authorities working with my Department.

Overall in 2020, €56.4m was spent to bring a total of 3,607 vacant homes back into productive use within the social housing stock. This represents the highest ever yearly spend and the highest number of homes to be refurbished under the voids programme, full details of which can be found at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/press-release/78da0-voids-stimulus-programme-exceeds-target-in-bringing-2565-homes-back-into-social-housing-stock/.