Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1069. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on the number of vacant and derelict properties identified in Mallow; and the progress which has been made in bringing them back into use under the Vacant Homes Action Plan. [58977/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Addressing vacancy and dereliction is a key priority for Government.

The Vacant Homes Action Plan, published in January 2023, set out the various actions being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes. In March, I published the 2025 Progress Report which shows the significant progress that is being made and it is available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/df86c-vacant-homes-action-plan-2023-2026/

Data in relation to vacant properties is available from a number of sources such as the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Census 2022 and GeoDirectory.

The CSO has recently developed a new statistical release on residential vacancy. The release, published on 24 September 2025, provides information on the extent of residential vacancy in 2022 and 2023, using ESB data on metered residential electricity consumption, with future regular publications planned.

In the release, the CSO note a national vacancy rate of 3.3% at the end of Q4 2023, down from 3.6% in Q4 2022. Data is provided at a national, local authority and local electoral level, including for Cork County Council.

In the latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report for Q2 2025, the average vacancy rate across Ireland had dropped to 3.7%, the lowest rate recorded since 2013; a local authority breakdown is also provided.

My Department has also supported local authorities to collate data on vacant and derelict properties in settlements in their administrative areas. Almost all local authorities, including Cork County Council, now have a database of vacant properties which they can update on an ongoing basis. The database is not intended to be a comprehensive count of every vacant and derelict property in their administrative area. It is used by the local authority to engage with property owners and work with them to bring those properties back into use.

Under section 8 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990, a local authority is obliged to maintain a Derelict Sites Register and shall enter on to the register the particulars of any land in their functional area which, in their opinion, is a derelict site. Under Section 23 of the Act, local authorities may apply a Derelict Sites Levy (DSL), on an annual basis, for sites entered on the derelict sites register on the 1 January of that year. Data is provided on the number of properties on Derelict Sites Registers in Cork County in 2022 and 2023. My Department is currently engaged with all local authorities in the process of collecting and collating the 2024 annual returns.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1070. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider expanding the croí cónaithe scheme to cover small towns like Mallow and Fermoy where housing vacancy remains high. [58979/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, introduced in July 2022 under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, supports bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes. A grant of up to €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.

The scheme is available across the country, in all cities, towns, villages and rural areas. Information on the scheme and conditions is available for applicants on my Department's website at Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/services/vacant-property-refurbishment-grant/

The objective of the grant is to support the refurbishment of vacant and derelict properties, bringing them back into use as homes. The grant has been, and continues to be, very successful in bringing these properties back into use and making the refurbishment of these properties an affordable option for buyers across the country.

A Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme targets new apartment building in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. However this scheme does not aim to address vacancy. The Scheme supports the building of apartments for sale to owner-occupiers by providing funding support to bridge the current "viability gap" between the delivery cost of building apartments and the market sale price (where the cost of building is greater).