Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2021
337. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of reports on residential vacancy that have been commissioned in the past three years; the titles of these reports; the level of vacancy that was reported by area, in tabular form; the recommendations that were made in these reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62718/21]
View answerThe Housing Agency, in addition to providing vital supports to local authorities in identifying and reactivating vacant properties, also supports the development of policy designed to tackle residential vacancy through research and analysis.
The Housing Agency published two research reports in 2019 entitled ‘How Vacancy is created and used: Case studies from Scotland, Denmark, and Philadelphia’ and ‘Incentives for the reuse of vacant buildings in town centres for housing and sustainable communities in Scotland, Denmark and France’. Both research reports are available on the Housing Agency website at the links below.
www.housingagency.ie/publications/how-data-vacancy-created-and-used-case-studies-scotland-denmark-and-philadelphia
www.housingagency.ie/publications/incentives-re-use-vacant-buildings-town-centres-housing-and-sustainable-communities
Against the background of research such as this, including Census 2016 which found that there were 183,000 vacant homes nationwide (albeit a 20% reduction on figures reported in Census 2011), Housing for All provides a key pathway to addressing vacancy and efficient use of stock dedicated solely to this priority area supported by actions to enable a sustainable housing system. Among the actions is the work is underway by the Department of Finance through the current Local Property Tax returns to assess the present vacancy situation and once collated and analysed this data will contribute to a number of policy initiatives outlined in Housing for All.
