Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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716. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of applications for funding under the vacant properties voids programme for 2020 that have been received from Limerick City and County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18961/21]

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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717. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of applications for funding under the vacant properties voids programme for 2020 received from Limerick City and County Council that have been approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18962/21]

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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718. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are 152 vacant properties voids owned by Limerick City and County Council in Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18963/21]

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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719. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are 152 vacant properties voids across the Limerick City and County Council authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18964/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 716 to 719, inclusive, together.

The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and 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. This funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authority's to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.

In relation to Limerick City and County Council, the local authority has received some €6.5 million of funding from 2014 to 2020, resulting in 393 units being returned to use.

My Department will continue to support local authorities in their work remediating vacant social housing properties in 2021. In preparation for this year’s programme correspondence issued to all Local Authorities requesting they provide figures on the total number of vacant units within their social housing stock as at January 2021. This process will help inform funding requirements and allocations for this year’s programme. A further communication in respect of the 2021 voids programme will issue to all local authorities shortly.

It is important to note that my Department and local authorities are working to transition from a largely response and voids based approach to housing stock management and maintenance to a planned maintenance approach. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response.