Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In January 2022, my Department communicated with local authorities outlining that it is increasing the funding made available since 2018 from €50,000 to €60,000 per annum from mid-2022 to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office, including a vacant homes officer (VHO) to support the commitment in Housing for All to ensure that vacant homes officers are full-time. The provision of central funding reinforces the capacity of local authorities, including through the important role of vacant homes officers, to ensure a dedicated focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction with a view to increasing the opportunities for residential development.

 Local authorities were requested to arrange for the vacant homes officer position to become full-time by the end of Q2 2022 and to notify my Department accordingly. My Department understands that a total of 17 local authorities have confirmed that at least 1 fulltime VHO is now in place and the Department is continuing the ongoing engagement with the remaining local authorities on the process underway to put in place fulltime VHOs.