Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 October 2022
150. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding that he intends to allocate to local authorities for the voids programme returns in 2023; and the funding allocated in each of the past five years in tabular form. [48956/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
Since 2014, Exchequer funding has been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to support local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-letting. This funding was initially introduced to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted at ensuring minimal turnaround and re-let times for local authority vacant stock.
An annualised breakdown of the funding provided and the number of properties remediated under the Voids programme for the years 2014-2021 is available on my Department's website at the following link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/0906a-other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/#voids-programme
Under the 2022 Voids Programme, funding of €25 million has been made available across the local authorities for the remediation of 2,273 properties.
Given the very significant investment into the Voids Programme over recent years local authorities should now be in a strong position to begin the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance.
To that end, 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 as referenced in Housing for All, policy objective 20.6. 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. My Department will support these work programmes by ensuring that the funding available under the various stock improvement programmes is aligned with this approach. In this regard, €5 million in funding has been ring-fenced for Planned Maintenance under this years Planned Maintenance/Voids Programme to support the implementation of an ICT asset management system for the local authority sector and to provide a funding contribution for the commencement of stock condition surveys.
Details of the 2023 Voids Programme will be announced in early 2023.
