Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Finance if the number of properties declared as vacant is falling, each year for which data is available; the total number of exemptions provided each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28358/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) was announced in Budget 2023 and legislated for in Finance Act 2022. The main objective of this tax is to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase by encouraging the owners of vacant, habitable, residential properties to bring those properties back into use. A residential property will be within the scope of the tax if it has been occupied as a dwelling for less than 30 days in a chargeable period.

VHT operates on a self-assessment basis, where the number of properties in scope and the amount of tax payable depends on the self-assessed returns submitted by property owners, the number of properties declared as liable, and the number of property owners entitled to claim available exemptions from the tax.

The first chargeable period for the VHT commenced on 1 November 2022 and ended on 31 October 2023. The second chargeable period commenced on 1 November 2023 and ended on 31 October 2024, with self-assessed returns due on 7 November 2024 and the associated tax payable on or before 1 January 2025.

VHT was charged at three times a property’s base local property tax (LPT) charge in respect of the first chargeable period (1 November 2022 – 31 October 2023), and at five times a property’s base LPT charge in respect of the second chargeable period (1 November 2023 – 31 October 2024). VHT currently applies at a rate of seven time a property’s base LPT charge with effect from 1 November 2024.

The below table shows, for the first and second chargeable periods, the number of properties declared vacant, then a breakdown of how many were liable for VHT and how many were exempt:

The VHT is one of a suite of measures introduced to address vacancy. The Vacant Homes Action Plan – Progress Report 2025, published by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in March, sets out the significant progress achieved across government under the objectives contained in Pathway 4 of Housing for All in 2024 and the further steps that will be taken in 2025 to bring more vacant and derelict properties into use as homes. Alongside the VHT, initiatives such as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, the CPO Activation Programme, and the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan, in addition to the appointment of Vacant Homes Officers in each local authority, are yielding results. Across the country, cities and towns are being revitalised and vacancy levels are declining as empty properties are brought back into use as homes.

My Department continues to monitor all aspects of the property market and I will continue to work with my colleagues in Government to ensure that any further interventions in the housing market are appropriately calibrated, represent the best use of scarce public resources and aim to boost the supply of much-needed housing in the State. As with all taxes, my Department and the Revenue Commissioners will monitor the VHT. If changes to the tax are merited in due course, I will make these changes.