Vacant Properties
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Alan Dillon (FG), Mayo

I thank Deputy Sherlock for the constructive points she has raised this afternoon. Certainly I feel there are many good local authorities that engage in these types of schemes very proactively. There are also local authorities that fall behind and do not promote them. The modified and expanded buy and renew scheme is a positive and the new parameters are very welcome. The inclusion of the contractor-led approach will give certainty to many local authorities and approved housing bodies. There is a challenge to get small builders and SMEs involved in this type of refurbishment. Many of them are on greenfield sites or involve other large-scale developments. There is a certain niche market for contractors and tradespeople to do this. It is a challenge to bring them into these types of programmes. Along with the derelict property tax, however, it will certainly create an enhanced pipeline for a lot of these types of projects and will inevitably support this scheme. That is what the Department is hoping will happen when we roll it out over the coming weeks.
I take Deputy Sherlock's point on how much funding will be allocated to this. We await the detail in the circular that will be delivered to the local authorities in the coming weeks. Measures such as the buy and renew scheme, the vacant refurbishment grant and the urban regeneration and development fund are all programmes we speak about, but action and delivery are now paramount for many town centres that need this refurbishment and need to have new life breathed into their areas. I welcome the discussion today and hope the information is presented in a swift manner.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26