Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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136. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has invited Cork City Council to make an application for the vacant properties (voids) programme; if such an application has been submitted; the total amount of funding his Department proposes to allocate to the authority; the expected timeframe for release of the funding; the number of units this funding will cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30177/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.

Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 2019. Local authority officials and elected members have a very important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.

Notwithstanding this, my Department provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. This funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.

Cork City Council have been allocated funding of €1,529,000 in 2024 which will support the remediation of 139 vacant dwellings. My Department has received a submission from Cork City Council under this Programme, with the selection of these properties a matter for the individual local authority.

Work in relation to the 2024 Programmes is ongoing, however, it will be later this year before significant recoupment claims are lodged with my Department. Full details in relation to 2024 output under this programme will be published on my Department’s website early in 2025.