Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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115. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the level of funding provided by his Department to local authorities per site under the affordable serviced sites scheme; the average cost per site incurred by local authorities in developing such serviced sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35814/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Ready to Build Scheme, funded by the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, to support addressing vacancy, was launched in September 2022. Under the Scheme, local authorities can make vacant serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers to build a home.

Local authorities identify suitable vacant sites in their ownership or purchase vacant sites in towns and villages and make them available for sale for the purpose of building a principal private residence. Once serviced, the local authority will make the site available for sale at a discount on the market value of the site. The level of discount to the individual will depend on the level of servicing cost incurred by the local authority before the sale of the site, but will not exceed €30,000.

The scheme is managed and administered by local authorities on behalf of my Department. To date 32 sites have been made available for sale by four local authorities.

A further 100 sites have been identified by various local authorities for possible inclusion in the scheme. The Vacant Homes Unit in my Department is engaging with local authorities in relation to these sites.

The conditions of the scheme require successful applicants to obtain final grant of planning permission prior to transfer of ownership of the site.

As no sites have fully completed the sale process to date, no claim for net recoupment has been submitted by any local authority to the Department and information on average cost for servicing sites is not yet available.

A review of the schemes under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, including the Ready To Build Scheme, was undertaken in 2024. That review has been completed and is under consideration.