Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 May 2023
318. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when funding will be given through the Government scheme to refurbish over 200 vacant local authority homes in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21059/23]
View answerThe management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.
Notwithstanding this, my Department provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. This funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.
From 2014 to 2022, expenditure of some €290 million was recouped to local authorities under the Voids Programme which funded the return to active use of 20,834 properties nationwide. Local authorities also provide significant funding from their own resources to address the level of vacancy within the social housing stock.
My Department will continue to support local authorities in their work in this area this year and allocations for the Voids Programme in 2023 have issued to all local authorities.
My Department will provide €31 million in funding to support the return of 2,300 vacant local authority homes this year. Of this, €616,000 has been allocated to Kerry County Council to remediate 56 vacant properties and €155,142 has been allocated for Planned Maintenance. There will be an opportunity following a review mid-year for local authorities to add additional properties to the Programme of Works, subject to available funding. Kerry County Council can also remediate vacant properties through their own resources. With regard to the properties which are selected to be remediated through the Voids Programme, this is a matter for each individual local authority, which would be Kerry County Council in this case.
It is important to note that given the very significant investment into the Voids Programme over recent years my Department and local authorities are working to transition from a largely response and voids based approach to housing stock management and maintenance, to a planned maintenance approach in line with Action 17.4 of the Housing for All Action Plan Update (November 2022). This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response.
