Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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325. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the Housing for All nationwide and local-authority-led compulsory purchase order scheme to purchase vacant homes. [17556/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Housing for All commits to a range of measures to address vacancy and maximise the use of existing housing stock such as plans to introduce a new programme for the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of vacant properties to ensure their use for residential purposes. Such a new programme for CPO of vacant properties is expected to support a broader programme of affordable housing in order to maximise opportunities to return vacant properties to productive use.

The CPO programme is to be supported by a bridging finance facility from the Housing Finance Agency for property acquisitions. In addition, a central advisory service is to be established in The Housing Agency to assist Local Authorities with the process. The objective is for Local Authorities to acquire at least 2,500 vacant units by 2026.

The detailed arrangements for this CPO programme are currently being developed, with aim of advancing it this year, and it will build on the experience of many Local Authorities that already utilise CPO acquisitions, for example, in their delivery of new social homes through the Buy and Renew scheme.