James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 364, 375 and 382 together.

My Department formally wrote to all local authorities on 15 September 2025 in relation to the funding of the Second-hand Acquisitions Programme for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

The Programme provides funding to local authorities to acquire second-hand properties to address the following areas:

• Tenancy Sustainment - Tenant -in-situ
• Exit from homeless services, including ones beds for housing first need
• People with a disability and older persons requiring urgent housing responses
• But and Renew acquisitions which tackle vacancy

The total funding available for the 2025 Programme is now €375m following the recent allocation of an amount of €50m to be ringfenced for acquisitions that support households and particularly large families with children and Housing First clients to exit from long term emergency accommodation. The €50m has been allocated to those local authorities with the most pressing needs. Fingal County Council has been allocated €10m for this purpose, which is additional to the €20m previously allocated to the Council under the 2025 Programme.

It is recognised that local authorities may not have sufficient time to complete such acquisitions by end 2025, and therefore any uncommitted and / or unspent monies from the €50m allocation may be carried forward into 2026.

In relation to Tenant in Situ acquisitions and other priority categories, current data suggests not all local authorities will spend their funding allocation this year. In light of this, where local authorities have fully committed their original 2025 allocation but have acquisitions which can be contractually completed and drawn down by end 2025, local authorities may proceed with such acquisitions and draw down the funding this year.

Further, with regard to acquisitions progressed in 2025 but are not completed and drawn down by year end, local authorities have been granted scope to enter into commitments up to a value of 30% of their original 2025 allocation to complete these in 2026 and draw down the funding.

The above measures will allow all local authorities to continue their acquisition programmes for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.