Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are plans to introduce or expand urban renewal schemes to rejuvenate town centres as part of new housing developments; if such plans include grant supports for building over existing businesses in town centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12707/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant introduced in July 2022, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.

The grant is available to individuals for the refurbishment of vacant accommodation above shops.

In order to qualify for the grant the property must be vacant for 2 years or more at the time of application. Further information and scheme eligibility can be found at the line provided here: www.gov.ie/en/service/f8f1b-vacant-property-refurbishment-grant/

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a "Living Above the Shop" top up grant which is currently being considered for progression.

Separately, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), a flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, supports a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan. URDF Call 3 also supports acquisitions in each local authority to address long term vacancy and dereliction in URDF towns and cities.

An interactive GIS Story Map site gives elected representatives and members of the public access up to date information on all URDF supported projects at a Local Authority level. The site is available through the URDF site, www.gov.ie/URDF.

It is my intention to continue and expand URDF-type investment in projects as part of the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund. This will allow for investment in infrastructure, the acquisition of land, assembly of sites and the de-risking of sites in existing towns and cities to maximise their potential growth. The detailed arrangements for the implementation of these funding streams will be clarified further following completion of the National Development Plan Review, which will enable the level of additional capital funding for infrastructure investment to be determined.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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111. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps he is taking to tackle the rate of vacancy among local authority homes across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12020/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, is a matter for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local Authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure all their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the housing (standards for rented houses) Regulations 2019.

Local authorities should endeavour to move to a position whereby rental incomes are ring fenced for the purpose of Management and Maintenance of their housing stock. However, my Department provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. The funding is available to support local authorities rather than replace funding from the local authorities own resources.

The emphasis of the programme is on those refurbishment works necessary to comply with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 to ensure quick turnaround and re-letting times. All future works should be deferred and carried out under planned maintenance over the lifecycle of the asset.

Where a local authority chooses to do works over and above those which are necessary to comply with the rental standards it can impact re-let times and result in additional costs for the local authority.

As part of the Programme for Government, consideration is being given to the introduction of a new Voids Programme with a view to further improve turnaround times of vacant social housing units. However, given the very significant investment into the voids programme and positive impact this programme has had over recent years, it is expected that local authorities should have dealt with legacy vacancy and by the end of this year be in a strong position to complete the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance.