Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
380. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a breakdown of the number of properties each local authority has targeted for purchase through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30941/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails regarding a third round of funding under the URDF programme were announced in January of this year. Supporting key objectives of Housing for All and Town Centre First, this round of URDF support has been specifically designed to addresses long term vacancy and dereliction across URDF eligible cities and town.
A revolving fund of up to €150m of URDF support is being made available for local authorities to acquire long term vacant or derelict properties (residential and/or commercial) and if necessary carry out works required to de-risk or improve the properties to make them 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 to tackle long term vacancy and dereliction without recourse to borrowing and the associated financial risk for local authorities.
On Tuesday June 20th, Government approved provision of 100% grant funding for local authorities under Call 3 of the URDF programme and automatic admission to the programme, following publication of the 2022 Census results, for towns that reach the population threshold of 10,000 or minimum 2,500 jobs for URDF eligibility.
Following engagement with the local authority sector, the administrative arrangements are currently being finalised, with approved programmes and allocations due to be issued to Local Authorities in the
coming weeks. Until such time as this work has been completed, a breakdown of the number of properties each local authority has targeted for purchase and the expected residential output will not be
available.
