Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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25. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to outline the rationale behind the recent updated guidelines to local authorities on the second-hand acquisitions programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53882/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has recently written to local authorities advising them of additional funding capacity and flexibility under the 2025 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme.

This includes an additional €50 million secured on foot of the recently concluded National Development Plan discussions, bringing the funding available this year to €375 million. The additional funding is ring-fenced for acquisitions supporting households, particularly larger families with children, to exit emergency homeless accommodation into housing. It has been allocated to the eight city and city and county councils, which generally have the highest number of households in such accommodation. Any unspent funding this year will be carried over into 2026 and will remain separate from the broader 2026 Second-Hand Acquisitions budget.

Adequate scope remains within the original €325 million allocated to the Programme in 2025 to support all acquisitions that can be completed by local authorities before year-end. Where local authorities indicated they would likely fully commit and draw down their original allocation this year, but could progress additional acquisitions if further funding were available, they have been approved do so.

Finally, local authorities have also been authorised to enter into commitments to a value of up to 30% of their 2025 budget for acquisitions unlikely to close and draw down funding until 2026. This effectively provides a multi-annual approach for the programme and allows local authorities to continue to pursue priority acquisitions over the closing months of 2025 with certainty on funding from my Department in 2026.