Search
11 Dec 2025
Search
11 Dec 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Louth County Council offices in Dundalk
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne has published figures showing nationally that 2,357 vacant social homes were brought back into active use in 2024 under the Voids Programme, including 75 social homes reactivated from vacancy in Louth.
The Voids Programme supports local authorities in preparing vacant homes for re-letting and builds on the ongoing work to tackle vacancy and dereliction to ensure vacant properties are re-used for housing.
Overall, in the last ten years, 535 social homes in Louth have been brought back in use under the Voids Programme. Comparing the 2024 figure to 2023, Minister Browne's department said that the fact that the overall voids figure of 75 for 2024 is slightly lower than 81 for 2023 is actually a positive sign – reflecting Louth County Council’s shift towards a planned maintenance model which leads to quicker repairs, continuous use, and faster re-letting of social homes.
The Department added that this trend is expected to continue in 2025 and will mean ongoing upkeep and more consistent occupancy. Minister Browne said:
“Beyond addressing the demand for social housing, renovating these unoccupied homes also benefits communities by preventing decline and abandonment, and I feel strongly about getting this done as fast as is possible for people. No one wants to see properties that should be homes lying idle.”
He added, “I commend Louth County Council for their partnership in returning these homes to active use over 10 years from 2014-2024. Their efforts will have a meaningful impact on 535 households.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
