Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
916. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the application submitted by Mayo County Council under the urban regeneration development fund (URDF) to address long-term vacancy and dereliction in Castlebar and Ballina; when proposals are likely to be finalising and funding awarded to these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38452/23]
View answerIn 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.
This will be achieved through the provision of a €150 million fund 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 property to make it more attractive for re-use or sale. The fund would then 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.
In July 2023, following consultation with the Local Authority sector, including Mayo County Council, I announced details of each Local Authority's Approved Acquisition Programme, funding allocations and arrangements for the third round of funding under the URDF.
As part of this announcement, Mayo County Council was awarded €2 million in URDF funding to help tackle vacancy and dereliction in their URDF eligible areas. As a one-off measure to encourage early activity under the programme and a demonstration of Government commitment to tackling the long term vacancy and dereliction issue in our towns and cities, Mayo County Council also received €400,000 of their funding allocation by way of forward funding.
Mayo County Council initially identified 46 properties as suitable for acquisition under the programme, with a total estimated acquisition cost of €7,170,000. However, at this stage the focus of the approved Acquisition Programmes should be on buildings located within town centre areas that will provide, as part of their ultimate end use, some element of residential use. On this basis, 11 of the properties submitted by Mayo County Council were identified as suitable for acquisition under the initial focus of this programme.
However, as set out in Circular URDF 03/2023, I am happy to consider any submission from Mayo County Council making a further case for the inclusion of any of the properties omitted by the Department or others properties not previously identified to be included on their approved programme. I have requested a further submission from the Council in this regard.
While the Department is currently awaiting this submission from Mayo County Council, the Council has been encouraged to proceed with tackling those properties approved for inclusion on their acquisition programme.
