Louth based senator welcomes new Vacant Homes Action Plan

Louth based Senator Erin McGreehan has welcomed a new Vacant Homes Action Plan published today by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The plan has been bolstered by a new €150 million fund for local authorities to tackle vacancy and dereliction to support the plan. The department says the fund and plan build on ongoing work to tackle vacancy and dereliction and bringing vacant properties into re-use for housing.   

The Vacant Homes Action Plan outlines progress in implementing actions relating to vacancy and efficient use of existing stock contained in Housing for All, the Government’s housing plan to 2030. Among the measures in the plan are: 

• A €150 million URDF fund for vacancy-related projects: A call for proposals from local authorities for funding to acquire a vacant or derelict property or site (residential or commercial) and associated works that may be required to de-risk or improve the site so that it is more attractive for re-use or sale. The fund will then be replenished from the proceeds received from the sale or use of a site, thereby allowing a local authority to establish a rolling programme to tackle long-term vacancy and dereliction without borrowing or the associated financial risk. This fund is being launched today. Housing for All committed to incorporating activation of vacant properties as key criteria in the URDF.  
• Guidance on Compulsory Purchase Orders by local authorities, with an initial focus on derelict properties  
• Rollout of a data collection project across all local authorities to capture the number of vacant and derelict properties  
• Continuing support and development of the full-time role of the Vacant Homes Officer across local authorities. 

Welcoming the announcement, Senator McGreehan said, “This Vacant Homes Action Plan is a hugely positive step forward in turning the tide on vacancy across the country. It’s clear to me that the best way of increasing the housing stock is by bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use. 

“This action plan and the very significant funding of €150 million is a clear message to local authorities that we need to ramp up our focus on vacancy and dereliction. The funding plan will be replenished from the proceeds of the sales of sites that are brought back into the stock and this is a welcome feature as this approach to vacancy and dereliction will become the norm around the country.

"It’s important that we have a constant strategy for tackling vacancy and dereliction and this approach is a positive step in that direction. Fianna Fáil is firmly committed to increasing all avenues of housing supply. This action plan is further evidence of this alongside the current programmes such as the Croķ Cónaithe Scheme. Housing For All is beginning to bed in and we are turning the tide on housing.”