Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
306. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide quarterly reporting on the number and location of properties approved for acquisition under URDF Call 3 in County Kildare; the number acquired to date; and the number resold and brought back into residential use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73054/25]
View answer307. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plan to scale the URDF Call 3 revolving fund beyond current approvals, in the context of the national €142.5 million allocation and Kildare's reported €7 million for 27 properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73055/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 306 and 307 together.
A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.
While Calls 1 and 2 were for specific regeneration projects, the third round of funding (Call 3) is specifically focussed towards addressing long term vacancy and dereliction, while supporting the key objectives of Housing for All and Town Centre First. Call 3 provided a €150 million revolving fund for local authorities to acquire long-term vacant or derelict properties in URDF eligible towns and cities.
The most recent (Q1 2025) report on the Call 3 programme that was provided to the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation shows that a total of 1,377 residential and commercial properties were approved by my Department for inclusion on Local Authority’s Approved Programmes.
It should be noted that properties approved for inclusion in the programme are not immediately acquired by local authorities. An initial engagement by the local authority with the property owner provides an opportunity for that owner to bring the property back into use in the first instance and without the need for further local authority intervention. Some 361 properties are being brought back into use by property owners in this manner and these properties will be monitored by local authorities to ensure follow-through.
A breakdown of progress made to date by Kildare County Council is shown below:
|
- |
Current Number of approved properties |
Proceeding through engagement stages |
Found not vacant, Brought back into use by owner, or Being dealt with under different programme |
Process to Purchase commenced |
Properties acquired |
|
Kildare |
56 |
27 |
19 |
7 |
3 |
The agreed Programme for Government included a commitment to establish a new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund to:
• invest in infrastructure, acquire land, assemble sites, de-risk sites;
• support the development of new transport orientated development towns as necessary; and
• continue and expand URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) investments in project to regenerate the public realm.
In that respect, and as set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the initial €2 billion allocation to the URDF has been extended by a further €500 million to 2030 under the updated NDP. It is on this basis that I intend to extend the reach of URDF Call 3 to better deal with derelict sites or lands, in order to increase the delivery of new homes. This will enable a focus on problematic infill derelict sites where acquiring and developing homes will remove dereliction, and support regeneration of adjoining buildings.
While suitable properties continued to be added to the Call 3 programme following the initial announcement of each approved programme of acquisitions, each Local Authority will be encouraged to make further submissions to my Department for the inclusion of additional properties based on the extended scope of the programme.
I intend to publish an updated report, covering the period to the end of Q3 2025, in the coming weeks.
