My Department's Second Hand Acquisitions Programme provides funding to local authorities to support acquisitions for certain priority categories including:
• exits from homelessness,
• urgent responses for priority cohorts such as persons with physical or intellectual disabilities, older persons, care leavers, &c., and
• tenancy sustainment (tenant in situ).
First and foremost, only those households that qualify for social housing can be supported under the programme. Thereafter, it is a matter for respective local authorities to satisfy themselves as to the fit of supported households under one or other of the priority categories.
Support for second hand acquisitions is intended only to complement new build delivery of social housing by local authorities. Such acquisitions should only be used to address very urgent cases and should not be a standard response or first of call for local authorities. Ideally, social housing qualified households should be accommodated within a local authority's available housing stock, including the growing level of new build homes coming on stream each year.
I expect the 2026 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme to maintain support for these priority categories. Pending the notification of 2026 allocations local authorities can enter into commitments for 2026 to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 acquisitions budget. This flexibility effectively provides for a multi-annual approach to programme delivery, facilitating local authorities to plan and progress acquisitions from one year to the next with a higher level of certainty vis-à-vis future funding availability. This flexibility provides Laois County Council with scope to commit in 2025 up tp €900,000 for acquisitions that will likely only to complete and drawdown in 2026. This includes acquisitions to support persons with disabilities, older person, exits from homelessness and tenancy sustainment via tenant in situ.
Individual local authority allocations for 2026, will be agreed and notified to local authorities early next year.
