Vacant Properties
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Frankie Feighan (FG), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to update the Chamber on what is being done to address vacancy and dereliction. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The Deputy rightly said we want less bureaucracy and more assistance. Working to end dereliction and vacancy is a key priority of the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The plan will ensure the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated and that legislative powers are used to make a serious impact on the level of dereliction and vacancy while also being a catalyst to revitalising communities. It is a blight on our cities, towns and villages and especially galling when we are under so much pressure to deliver housing for our people. A range of measures have been introduced, as the Deputy outlined, by the Government to address vacancy and dereliction.
These include the vacant property refurbishment grant and the newly launched vacant above the shop grant and expert advice grant. These grants, coupled with the repair and leasing scheme, planning exemptions for the conversion of vacant commercial properties and the compulsory purchase order, CPO, activation programme, are all working to get as many vacant properties back into use as possible.
A number of national structures have been established, including the dedicated vacant homes unit in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, a property optimisation unit in the Housing Agency and full-time vacant homes officers in each local authority. In addition, the Government's town centre first policy, introduced in 2022, provides a whole-of-government framework to address the decline in the health of towns and support measures to revitalise them. To drive the delivery of town centre first, dedicated town regeneration officers are now established within local authorities, working with vacant homes officers and other local authority staff, to tackle dereliction and develop regeneration initiatives.
The vacant property refurbishment grant, introduced in July 2022, is making a huge difference across the country. The grant provides up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. At the end of quarter 1 of 2026, 17,400 applications had been received for the grant, more than 13,000 approved and over 5,300 grants paid to date as refurbishment works have been completed, with a value of over €284 million.
Another important programme changing how local authorities tackle this issue is the CPO activation programme. The programme requires local authorities to take a proactive and systematic approach to tackling vacancy and dereliction, identifying properties and engaging with their owners. Local authorities are encouraged to use their compulsory purchase powers if engagement is not successful, with funding available for them to do so. Support and guidance are provided to all local authorities in implementing the programme by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Housing Agency. These measures are proving effective in reducing vacancy levels and there is real momentum developing right across the country in bringing empty properties back into use as homes.
The Deputy also talked about buildings being in probate. This is another issue we need to tackle but, again, a lot is being done by the local authorities, the Department of housing and all the agencies. I wish it had been done 15 or 20 years ago but a lot is happening. I thank Deputy Aird for his comments.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21