Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
656. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has instructed local authorities to include targets for tackling vacancy in their forthcoming development plans. [20377/22]
View answerHousing for All (published in September 2021) provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. The strategy sets out, over four pathways, a broad suite of measures to achieve its policy objectives together with a financial commitment of in excess of €4 billion per annum.
The suite of measures and relevant targets under the pathway to addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing stock includes:
- A new local authority-led programme to help Local Authorities buy or compulsory purchase 2,500 vacant homes in their areas which can then be sold on the open market will ensure homes don’t lie vacant.
- The Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Initiative will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of some 2,000 serviced sites for homes by 2025, to attract people to build their own homes and to support the refurbishment of vacant properties, enabling people to live in small towns and villages, in a sustainable way.
While it is a matter for local authorities to decide independently on specific targets in the first instance within the context of these overall targets, as these measures are advanced I will keep under consideration specific local authority targets having regard to future delivery of the overall national targets.
