Written answers

Thursday, 20 March 2025

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Housing Schemes

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to report on the extra €265 million funding recently announced for housing acquisitions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12539/25]

Photo of Conor SheehanConor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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46. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of tenant in situ properties acquired in 2024; the number he expects to be completed in 2025; to provide a breakdown of the €265 million announced for housing acquisitions, including unit allocation, by local authority; if the allocation of funding for tenant in situ includes funding for refurbishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12702/25]

Photo of Tony McCormackTony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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49. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when local authorities will be informed of their specific allocations from the extra €265 million he announced in funding for housing acquisitions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12708/25]

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the tenant in situ allocations for each local authority in 2025; the number of acquisitions that, although the process had commenced, did not complete as a result of the Government decision to suspend the scheme, by local authority area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12807/25]

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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76. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will increase funding for the tenant in situ scheme to meet demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12670/25]

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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113. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown, on a local authority basis, of the number of tenant in situ purchases made by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12881/25]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 30, 46, 49, 72, 76 and 113 together.

Tenant in Situ Acquisitions were introduced by way of Government decision in 2023 as a short term response to the reported uplift in sales by landlords of homes which were within the HAP and RAS schemes in order to prevent potential homelessness where other solutions could not be found for the affected tenants.

A further Government decision extended such acquisitions into 2024 with approval granted for 1,300 Tenant in Situ acquisitions in addition to the 200 priority acquisitions target for 2024 contained in Housing for All.

Tenant in Situ acquisitions have been an important measure in the prevention of homelessness since their introduction in 2023. Government has agreed therefore increased funding for second hand social housing acquisitions from the €60m allocated under Housing for All to €325m through the allocation of an additional €265m. My Department has notified local authorities on the extension of the second hand acquisitions programme and a circular setting out the arrangements will issue shortly.

Under revised arrangements for 2025 local authorities will receive a capital funding allocation for the acquisition of homes for priority categories; tenant in situ, elderly and disabled persons, exits from homelessness and Buy and Renew acquisitions which tackle vacancy. The provision of a capital funding allocation will help promote best practice in obtaining value for money and provide local authorities with the flexibility to respond to needs and priorities locally within the categories of need being prioritised. Details regarding this capital funding allocation will be clearly set out in the circular that will issue shortly.

Local authorities have delegated sanction in relation to acquisitions within their funding allocation subject to those acquisitions being within Acquisition Cost Guidelines issued by my Department.

Tenant in situ acquisitions continue to be supported and prioritised where other solutions cannot be found for the affected tenants. The arrangements for 2025 will ensure a more targeted and focused acquisitions programme.

Local authorities take appropriate steps to ensure that their first response will be to support households to prevent homelessness in cases where tenants have been served with a notice of termination by their landlord. A local authority will assess the options available in each case and decide the appropriate action.

My Department does not hold data on the number of social housing acquisitions applications that have been considered, withdrawn or rejected, nor does it hold data on the timelines for such acquisitions. This information, and the details for requesting a review on decisions made, may be available from individual local authorities.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. Comprehensive data on social and affordable housing is published on my Department's website up to Quarter 3 2024, including completed acquisitions.

Data for all of these schemes up to Q4 2024 is being collected and collated.

Photo of Ruairí Ó MurchúRuairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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31. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on the planned provision of disability-specific housing to include all schemes such as second-hand acquisitions programme, housing adaptation grants funding and new builds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12879/25]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department jointly published the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People (NHSDP) 2022-2027 and Implementation Plan with the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Strategy and Implementation Plan may be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/60d76-national-housing-strategy-for-disabled-people-2022-2027

The Implementation Plan sets out 107 Actions to achieve the vision of the joint Strategy for delivering housing and related supports for disabled people to 2027. It supports the primary objective of the Strategy which is ‘to facilitate disabled people to live independently with the appropriate choices and control over where, how and with whom they live, promoting their inclusion in the community’. Accessibility is a key feature running through all of the Actions in the Plan each of which is assigned to one or more stakeholders.

The Strategy and Implementation Plan operate under the framework of Housing for All. A key action of Housing for All required local authorities to develop Housing Delivery Action Plans to include details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. The Plans also include details of proposed delivery of housing for disabled people. Housing Delivery Action Plans are published on the websites of the respective local authorities.

My Department provides funding to local authorities in respect of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, to assist eligible people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which includes the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, are funded by the Department with a contribution from the resources of the local authority. The detailed administration of the grants, including the assessment, approval and prioritisation of applications, is the responsibility of the local authorities.

Budget 2025 provided for an increase of €25m in the funding provision for the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, with almost €100 million allocated for 2025, continuing the year on year increases since 2014.

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