Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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869. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider creating additional positions within each of the local authorities' vacant homes office teams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37760/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government, as set out in Pathway 4 of Housing for All. In January 2022, my Department communicated with local authorities outlining that funding, made available since 2018 to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office including a Vacant Homes Officer (VHO), would be increased from €50,000 to €60,000 per annum, from mid-2022.

This supports the commitment in Housing for All to ensure that VHOs are full-time. The provision of central funding reinforces the capacity of local authorities, including through the important role of VHOs, to ensure a dedicated focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction with a view to increasing the opportunities for residential development.

All 31 local authorities now have a full time, dedicated VHO in place.

The role of the VHO in each local authority is:

• To actively promote and lead the uptake within the local authority of various initiatives, schemes and funding programmes to address vacancy and bring vacant properties into residential use;
• To actively engage with owners of vacant properties and other relevant stakeholders and promote use of relevant schemes and supports to bring vacant properties into use;
• To collect, monitor and assess vacancy data locally and use that data to actively engage with property owners and promote schemes to encourage activation of properties; and
• Play a communication, promotion and advisory role both internally within the local authority and externally as a contact point for members of the public and key interested parties on vacant homes/properties.

My Department is currently examining the resources needed to further support the activation of vacant and derelict properties across local authorities.