Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the timeline for moving to a proactive maintenance approach. [65561/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, implementing a planned maintenance programme and carrying out responsive repairs, are matters for local authorities under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.

Notwithstanding their obligations via-a-vis managing and maintaining social homes, my Department supports local authorities to undertake stock condition surveys supported by an ICT Asset Management system. Currently, a contribution of €150 is provided per survey, with all local authorities now live on the ICT Asset Management system. Funding is also being provided to support works on foot of of these surveys.

Some €5m was made available to local authorities in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024 to commence and, in some cases, continue the transition from a largely response-based approach to maintenance to a planned maintenance approach, based on planned work programmes informed by stock condition surveys. This funding increased to €10m this year and should increase further over the coming years as Voids funding decreases. Critically, the Planned Maintenance programme aims to support all local authority housing, and not only vacant units.

By end-2024, local authorities owned an estimated 155,000 social homes. The ambition is for condition surveys to be carried out and completed for all these homes over four to five years, with 2025 considered as year zero. These surveys will inform future work programmes and ensure they are strategic and focused with a cyclical programme of inspection, repair and replacement.

Surveys are progressing, with more than 8,634 completed to mid-November.