Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
167. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider ring-fencing dedicated funding to enable local authorities to purchase and renovate vacant buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15865/23]
View answerOn 30 January 2023, I announced details regarding a third round of funding under the URDF. Supporting key objectives of Housing for All, Town Centre First, and the Vacant Homes Action Plan, this round of URDF support has been specifically designed to address long term vacancy and dereliction across URDF eligible cities and towns.
It is proposed that a revolving fund of up to €150m of URDF support will be made available for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties (residential and/or commercial) and to carry out any associated works needed to de-risk or improve the site to make it more attractive for re-use or sale. The intention is that the fund would be replenished from the proceeds received from the end use/user thereby allowing the local authority to put in place a rolling programme of acquisitions in order to tackle long term vacancy and dereliction without recourse to borrowing and the associated financial risk.
My Department is currently engaging with the local authority sector on finalising individual allocations, project criteria and reporting arrangements, the details of which will be announced in due course. While the third round of funding is specifically tailored to help deliver specific objectives of Housing for All, Town Centre First and the Vacant Homes Action Plan, a fourth round of funding support will be made available later in 2023.
Additionally, my colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development announced on Monday 27 March, 2023 a €13m fund to tackle vacancy and dereliction in rural Ireland. Under the initiative, each local authority can apply for funding of up to €500,000, which they can use to purchase up to three properties to re-develop into multi-purpose community facilities. The funding, under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, is designed to make our towns and villages more attractive places in which to live, visit, invest and raise a family.
