Written answers
Thursday, 1 July 2021
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Local Authorities
Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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225. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the cost to date to his Department of the provision of funding to each local authority for the post of vacant homes officers in tabular form; if each such local authority has appointed a vacant homes officer; the date of each appointment; if such appointments are full-time dedicated posts with no other responsibilities attached; if not, the other responsibilities; if he has requested an annual report for each such local authority in relation to the work of each vacant homes officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35613/21]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department has provided funding of €50,000 per annum to each of the 31 local authorities since July 2018. The funding is provided to support the work of the Vacant Homes Office in each local authority each year. All 31 local authorities have claimed the funding up to June 2021. My Department will issue a circular in the coming days to invite local authorities to claim the funding up to June 2022. The total amount paid to all 31 local authorities to fund Vacant Homes Offices to date is €4.65m.
Each of the 31 local authorities has appointed a Vacant Homes Officer since 2018, however, there have been many staff changes in the Local authorities in the past 3 years resulting in various different staff members filling the role within the local authorities.
In the table below the date of appointment of the current Vacant Homes Officer is provided and whether the officer is appointed in a full time capacity, dedicated only to the duties of the Vacant Homes Officer, or if they are assigned other responsibilities within the local authority.
Prior to Covid 19 restrictions being introduced, the Vacant Homes Officers submitted quarterly returns to the Vacant Homes Unit in my Department on the number of properties inspected and number of properties brought back into use through the various schemes in their administrative areas. Following the lifting of the restrictions local authorities will recommence this reporting exercise in Q3 of 2021.
Local Authority | Date of Appointment of current VHO | Full time dedicated VHO posts Yes / No | Other responsibilities assigned to Vacant Homes Officers who are not in full-time dedicated VHO posts |
---|---|---|---|
Carlow County Council | July 2018 | NO | Senior Executive Officer in Housing overseeing various schemes and projects. |
Cavan County Council | February 2019 | NO | |
Clare County Council | June 2021 | YES | |
Cork City Council | 2019 | No | Derelict Sites /Vacant Sites work / Audit Work/ Budgets. |
Cork County Council | February 2018 | NO | Senior Executive Officer in Housing overseeing various schemes and projects. |
Donegal County Council | July 2018 | NO | Responsibility as SEO for all Housing & Corporate Services delivered via 5 Municipal Districts. The duties of VHO are decentralised and incorporated into the roles of different staff in different parts of the County. |
Dublin City Council | January 2017 | YES | None |
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council | June 2019 | NO | Other duties include administrative tasks in the following sections: Long-Term Leasing Housing Adaptation Grants Disabled Persons Alterations |
Fingal County Council | May 2019 | NO | Social Housing Delivery Programme. |
Galway City Council | September 2019 | NO | Acquisitions,Long term lease scheme, The Repair and Lease scheme, Mortgage to Rent scheme and Buy & Renew scheme |
Galway County Council | February 2021 | NO | Long term leasing, Acquisitions |
Kerry County Council | June 2019 | YES | None |
Kildare County Council | July 2018 | NO | Administrative Officer in the Capital Team with responsibility for the acquisitions/build programmes/Part V/land management/CAS Schemes etc. |
Kilkenny County Council | April 2018 | NO | Housing Capital Projects (sole Architect in KCC) Design, Site appraisal & feasibility, Forward Planning, Consultants Liaison CAS & CALF project Appraisals Age-friendly Housing Tech. advisor Community Projects-RRDF projects Corporate Project Liaison Access Officer |
Laois County Council | September 2018 | NO | RAS & Leasing, Private Rented Inspections |
Leitrim County Council | 2018 | NO | 80% VHO 20% Capital Housing Regeneration and Housing. Refurbishment |
Limerick City and County Council | 20 July 2020 | NO | Duties under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990. Duties under the Housing Act, 1964 Staff and office management |
Longford County Council | July 2018 | NO | Senior Executive Officer in Housing overseeing various schemes and projects. |
Louth County Council | December 2019 | NO | Oversight of Housing Financial Dept. |
Mayo County Council | May 2020 | NO | Manage RAS/STL/HAP/RLS/LTL/CALF/CAS |
Meath County Council | October 2019 | NO | Vacant Housing Office – 80% Approved Housing Bodies – 20% |
Monaghan County Council | July 2018 | NO | Delivering Rebuilding Ireland Programme |
Offaly County Council | August 2018 | NO | DPG, Disabled Person Grants |
Roscommon County Council | October 2020 VHO position has been consistently maintained since 2018. | VHO post is substantially full time | - 75% of the postholders’ role is VHO related - Derelict Sites and Dangerous Places; - Planning enforcement. Due to backlogs in some other areas of work, primarily arising from Covid 19 related issues and restrictions, the VHO officer has been deployed in recent months to assist in other areas of work. Prior to that, VHO work accounted for 100% of postholder activity. |
Sligo County Council | September 2018 | NO | Planning, Enforcement and Building Control |
South Dublin County Council | November 2019 | No | Rent Accounts and Assessment Sale of Local Authority to tenants Local Authority Mortgage Loans/Rebuilding Ireland Home Loans Tenant Purchase Mortgage Allowance Scheme Inspector of Housing Vacant Homes |
Tipperary County Council | November 2018 | YES | |
Waterford City and County Council | July 2018 | NO | Covid-19 Champion in the Housing Department for Maintenance Section, dealing with the Repair and Lease Scheme in Housing Supply Team. |
Westmeath County Council | July 2018 | NO | Broadband Officer |
Wexford County Council | July 2018 | NO | Homeless Co-Ordinator, Private Rented Sector Enforcement of Standards RAS Co-Ordinator Leasing Co-Ordinator Repair & Leasing Co-ordinator Annual and Monthly LG Returns |
Wicklow County Council | December 2020 | NO | Housing Maintenance Private rented accommodation inspections including HAP, leasing & repair and lease inspections. Housing Adaptation Grants |
John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the level of funding under the six main headings provided to Carlow County Council and by comparison to three other councils similar in size and profile to Carlow over the past ten years; if Carlow County Council has been underfunded by his Department in this period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35615/21]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The funding system for local authorities is complex, with authorities deriving their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government. It is a matter for each local authority to consider how it can maximise local income sources and manage its own spending, in the context of the annual budgetary process. Most of the funding from Central Government must be used for specified services. These can be grouped into 5 broad programme categories: recreational, education, environment, housing and transport. In relation to funding streams specifically from my Department, €41.9m and €44.5m was provided to Carlow County Council in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
I refer to the unprecedented support for local authorities during the COVID pandemic. In 2020, Carlow County Council applied a 100% commercial rates waiver to almost 2,000 ratepayers and recouped €7.62m in that regard from my Department. In addition, in recognition of COVID related income losses, and additional COVID related expenditure incurred in 2020, my Department provided funding of €1.33 m to Carlow County Council. The Government has introduced a commercial rates waiver for 2021, which has been extended to end of September, at an estimated cost €480 m. As has been the case since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, my Department will continue to engage with the local government sector and with individual local authorities on the financial impacts of the pandemic and provide them with the necessary financial supports.
Local authorities vary significantly from one another in terms of size, population, population distribution, public service demands, infrastructure and other income sources, all factors which should be taken into account when comparing levels of funding in different local authority areas. If the Deputy wishes to clarify the details of the specific headings on which he seeks information and the names of the local authorities with which he wishes to compare Carlow County Council, I will endeavour to provide the information requested. However, it is important to note that I can provide information with regard to funding streams from my Department only.
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