Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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146. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to put measures in place to support the refurbishment of vacant property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11288/22]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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196. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has set targets for local authorities in respect of bringing private vacant property back into use. [11835/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 196 together.

Housing for All (published in September 2021) provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. The strategy sets out, over four pathways, a broad suite of measures to achieve its policy objectives together with a financial commitment of in excess of €4 billion per annum.

The suite of measures and relevant targets under the pathway to addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing stock includes:

- A new local authority-led programme to help Local Authorities buy or compulsory purchase 2,500 vacant homes in their areas which can then be sold on the open market will ensure homes don’t lie vacant.

- The Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Initiative will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of some 2,000 serviced sites for homes by 2025, to attract people to build their own homes and to support the refurbishment of vacant properties, enabling people to live in small towns and villages, in a sustainable way.

- A new Town Centre First policy which I launched on 4 February 2022 providing a major new policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.

The Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2022 were recently made which extends to 31 December 2025 the exemption given by earlier Regulations that provided for an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant areas above ground floor premises, to residential use. The regulations are primarily aimed at facilitating the productive re-use of qualifying vacant commercial buildings as homes, while also facilitating urban renewal and the bringing on stream of increased housing supply. In addition, the scope of the exemption was also extended to include an extra class of use, that of ‘public houses’.

All of the initiatives under Housing for All to address vacancy will not only support housing supply but will have a profoundly positive impact from a social and sustainability perspective; utilising existing space, reimaging and regenerating vacant properties and ultimately providing communities with a greater vibrancy.