Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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522. To ask the Minister for Health whether her Department or the Health Service Executive has engaged with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding the potential use of vacant residential properties for housing or accommodation purposes; whether any formal interdepartmental framework exists governing the repurposing of State-owned residential assets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29291/26]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Statutory obligations exist for all State bodies in respect of the disposal of surplus properties, including properties potentially suitable for housing. These obligations are set out in DPER Circulars 11/15 Protocols for the Transfer and Sharing of State Property Assets, and 17/16 Policy for the Property Acquisition and for Disposal of Surplus Property, which require all State bodies to offer properties to other State stakeholders (including Local Authorities). Additional obligations exist under the Land Development Agency Act 2021.

The HSE must follow the official process for the disposal of properties by State bodies and agencies. When a HSE property has been vacated by a service it is necessary to establish if it is surplus to requirements and to decide whether to retain the property in the healthcare estate. If the property is to be disposed of, the process hierarchy is set out as follows:

• Offer the property to the LDA via written notification.
• Should the LDA not choose to take up the property, under DPER Circulars 11/2015 & 17/2016 the HSE must then offer the property to other State Stakeholders via the State Property Register.
• Should no other State Stakeholders take up the property, the property may then be placed for sale on the open market.