Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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99. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will outline his plan to assist more local authorities to acquire derelict properties compulsorily if necessary. [46473/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The 2018 Indecon Report on the Taxation of Vacant Residential Property recommended that a major programme of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) should be activated by Local Authorities to purchase vacant properties, even when these dwellings are not suitable for social housing.

Housing for All: A new Housing Plan for Ireland provides for such a programme of CPO acquisitions, supported by a bridging finance facility from the Housing Finance Agency, which will allow Local Authorities to maximise opportunities to return vacant properties to productive use.

The objective of the programme, which will be introduced by the end of 2021, is for Local Authorities to acquire up to 2,500 vacant units by 2026 and present them to the open market for sale.

The Housing Agency will assist and advise Local Authorities with the CPO process. Vacant Homes Officers, already in situ in each Local Authority, will be responsible for driving this programme forward.

I encourage Local Authorities to be proactive in utilising their legislative powers for compulsory purchase, where necessary, with the aim of bringing the greatest number of recoverable long-term vacant dwellings and sites back into use. In many cases, however, the use of compulsory purchase powers is not necessary, as agreement to purchase can be reached between the local authority and the property owner.