Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2016
280. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if there are supports available to help local authorities and persons obtain compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, to buy vacant and derelict key sites for residential development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32012/16]
View answer284. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce measures that would incentivise property owners to renovate unused residential units over retail premises to help with the housing shortage and encourage more persons to live in village and town centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32039/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 284 together.
The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration and incorporates a series of specific actions aimed at facilitating the regeneration of our urban centres. In this regard, the Programme incorporates a range of specific actions to help address vacancy and dereliction, for example, proposals to:
- introduce a similar scheme to the “Living City Initiative” to regenerate town centres and villages throughout the country;
- establish a national register of derelict sites, in addition to the register of vacant sites required under the new vacant site levy provisions, to bring vacant and under-utilised sites into beneficial use for housing and regeneration purposes;
- mandate local authorities with better land management powers, including the possibility of additional Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) capabilities;
- reclassify and incentivise the use of under-utilised or vacant areas over ground-floor premises in towns, for both residential and commercial use; and
- reform the Derelict Sites Act 1990, and tackle the under-use and hoarding of derelict land by the State, semi-State and private sectors.
In addition, Action 5.1 of the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Rebuilding Ireland undertakes to develop a National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy by early 2017. To this end, the Housing Agency, which has lead responsibility for co-ordinating the development of the Strategy, has established a working group with senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and from the Housing Agency itself. Its first meeting was held on 30 September and it is due to meet again later this month.
My Department and the Housing Agency are liaising with local authorities and with the Central Statistics Office in order to obtain a better understanding of the numbers, characteristics and reasons why homes are vacant. A number of local authorities have commenced, or are planning to commence, pilot programmes to identify vacant homes and bring them back into use; these pilot programmes will inform the Strategy. In addition, the Strategy will be informed by international best practice and experience, and research is being undertaken in this area.
Furthermore, a number of new initiatives have recently been announced which specifically target vacant properties. The new Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) is aimed at assisting local authorities or Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to bring vacant private houses into social housing use, providing homes for families on local authority waiting lists. The new Scheme will operate initially in Waterford and Carlow and my Department will work closely with other local authorities to roll it out around the country over the course of the next six months. I have secured €140 million for the successful implementation of this Scheme over the next five years. This Scheme has significant potential and I am hopeful that it can bring at least 3,500 vacant houses back into productive use between now and 2021.
In addition, under a new “Buy and Renew” initiative, my Department will support local authorities and AHBs to purchase private housing units in need of remediation, and renew them with the aim of making them available for social housing use. An initial capital provision of €25 million will be available for this initiative in 2017.
With regard to the question of supports to obtain CPOs to buy key vacant and derelict sites, it should be noted that a large number of State bodies and authorities already have CPO powers, all of which are underpinned by different statutes.
