Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
336. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority owned houses currently lying vacant in County Mayo; the reasons these properties remain idle; and the steps being taken to bring them back into use as social housing, particularly in light of ongoing homelessness and housing shortages. [35805/26]
View answer337. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of five council owned houses in Swinford that have been lying vacant for approximately two years; the reasons refurbishment works have not yet been completed; and when these homes will be made available to families on the housing list. [35806/26]
View answer338. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding that is available to Mayo County Council to refurbish and re-let vacant council houses; whether additional emergency funding will be provided to speed up turnaround times; and if he will act to ensure vacant properties are prioritised over long-term emergency accommodation. [35807/26]
View answer339. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how he justifies council-owned houses remaining vacant for extended periods while families and individuals are forced to stay in homeless shelters and emergency accommodation; and the measures being introduced to prevent prolonged vacancy of local authority housing stock. [35808/26]
View answer340. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average length of time council houses remain vacant before being reallocated; whether targets exist for bringing such houses back into use; and if specific action will be taken regarding vacant properties in Swinford, given the increasing number of people struggling to secure permanent housing. [35809/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 336, 337, 338, 339 and 340 together.
The management and maintenance of local authority social homes, including pre-letting repairs and the re-tenanting of vacant properties, is a matter for each individual local authority under s.58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities must also ensure all tenanted properties comply with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. To this end, local authority elected members and officials must make adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.
Notwithstanding, my Department will provide some €260 million as a contribution towards the remediation and maintenance of local authority homes through various funding programmes in 2026, with €40 million alone allocated to a revised Planned Maintenance and Voids Programme to specifically support the efficient turn around of casually vacant homes by local authorities.
This includes more than €650,000 allocated to Mayo County Council this year, with over €4.1 million already provided by my Department to the Council over the last decade or so to bring almost 580 vacant social homes back into productive use across the county. Ultimately, it is first and foremost a matter for Mayo County Council to determine how this funding is deployed, the homes selected for remediation, and to ensure sufficient funding is secured from its own resources for any properties that require works to prepare them for re-let.
It is incumbent on local authorities to ensure their social housing stock is used as effectively as possible, that vacancy is minimised, and casually vacant social homes are re-let as soon as possible. This is particularly the case when the number of homeless households, including families with children, and the demand for social housing continue to grow.
To this end, and to encourage a more efficient use of social housing stock and a greater level of investment by local authorities in that stock, I intend introducing revised funding arrangements on a phased basis in 2027 and 2028 that links the level of funding provided by my Department to vacancy rates in local authorities, re-let times and the level of rental funding re-invested by those authorities in the management and maintenance of their social homes.
Generally, the quantum of social homes vacant at a moment in time in Mayo, the length of time they've been vacant, the reasons they're vacant, and the steps being taken to bring them back to productive use, are matters solely for local authorities. Accordingly, matters related to vacant social homes in one area of the county or another should be addressed directly to Mayo County Council.
Data on the management of social homes are published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in its Annual Reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities, including for Mayo County Council. These reports provide a range of information in relation to social housing stock, including levels of vacancy and average turnaround times in local authority owned properties.
The most recent NOAC report for 2024 is available at www.noac.ie/noac_publications/report-77-noac-performance-indicator-report-2024/.
