Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 July 2017
257. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans for an audit of vacant commercial properties, specifically shops, by county, as was carried out when establishing the list of vacant homes in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31619/17]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, includes a commitment to examine reclassifying and incentivising the use of underutilised or vacant areas over ground floor premises in urban areas, for both residential and commercial use.
Similarly, a key objective of Pillar 5 of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, launched in July 2016, is to ensure that existing housing stock is used to the maximum degree possible and focuses on measures to use existing vacant stock to renew urban and rural areas.
Specifically, Action 5.9 of Rebuilding Ireland commits to reviewing planning legislation to allow the change of use of vacant commercial units in urban areas, including vacant or under-utilised areas over ground-floor premises, into residential units without having to go through the planning process. This proposal is also incorporated in Action 6 of the Action Plan for Rural Development, launched in January 2017. My Department is presently progressing the drafting of the necessary revisions to the planning regulations to give effect to this action and it is intended that the new regulations, which will require the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas, will be made as soon as possible.
While I have no plans to initiate specifically an audit of vacant commercial properties, there are a number of initiatives which seek to address this issue. My Department is working with Dublin City Council in the context of the Living City Initiative (LCI), to explore the potential for further streamlining of the approach to redeveloping and re-utilising vacant properties. The aim of the LCI is to bring life back into designated historic areas of our main cities by offering tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred on the refurbishment or conversion of certain buildings, where qualifying conditions are met.
In this context, the City Council has examined approximately 11,000 rateable units in its functional area. From a visual analysis in a sample number of streets, the City Council has estimated that there may be approximately 4,000 vacant units above commercial premises that could potentially be converted into residential use in its functional area. Despite amendments introduced to the LCI in Budget 2016 by the Minister for Finance to make the Initiative more attractive, uptake by property owners remains limited. Dublin City Council therefore intends to re-launch it shortly to a wider target group in the hope of wider participation by property owners.
I also understand that Cork City Council carried out an employment and land use survey in 2011 which recorded vacancy above commercial premises in Cork City Centre but did not assess its suitability for residential purposes. The Council is currently preparing an Action Plan for the medieval core of the city in 2017 which will include a pilot survey of the potential for utilising vacant upper-floor spaces for residential purposes.
In addition, the Heritage Council has been working with a number of local authorities on a Town Centre Health Check programme which includes the undertaking of assessments of the level of vacancy of residential, commercial and retail premises in town centres with a view to revitalising them and enhancing their economic sustainability. I am fully supportive of this approach to obtain accurate data on property vacancy and the subsequent development of Action Plans by the local authorities involved.
