Written answers

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Vacant Properties

Photo of Cian O'CallaghanCian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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533. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of vacant habitable dwelling units and vacant derelict residential dwelling units in the ownership of or in part ownership of or under the control of each Department and agencies under the remit of same; the county in which each unit is located; the length of time each unit has been vacant in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1598/22]

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Addressing vacancy and maximising the use of existing housing stock is a primary concern of this Government, as demonstrated by one of the four pathways dedicated solely to this priority area in the new Housing for All strategy. The most recent figures available from Census 2016 indicate that there were 183,000 vacant homes nationwide, a 20% reduction on figures reported in Census 2011 (230,000).

Work is underway by the Department of Finance through the current Local Property Tax returns to assess the present vacancy situation and once collated and analysed this data will provide a new data set on vacant homes.

Local authorities, as the main owner of property under the aegis of my Department, will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time, as tenancy surrender and re-letting of stock is an ongoing process. Therefore, ongoing data in relation to vacant local authority owned homes are not collated by my Department.

Statistics in relation to social housing stock, at a point in time, are published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in their Annual Reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These reports provide a range of information in relation to social housing stock, including levels of vacancy in local authority owned properties. The most recent report, relating to 2020, is available on the NOAC website at the following link:

noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/NOAC-Local-Authority-Performance-Indicator-Report-2020.pdf

On the broader front, in the context of the Housing for all Action on activating State owned vacant properties for residential development, my Department has written to each Department requesting them to review their portfolio of properties and assess which, if any, may be suitable for housing. Once this initial exercise is completed in the near future, my Department remains available to assist in the prompt release of any properties identified as potentially suitable for housing, and no longer required for current uses.

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