2026-05-19

145. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress being made in addressing vacancy and dereliction following reports of the lowest number of quarter 1 electricity reconnections since Central Statistics Office, CSO, data began. [37512/26]

The first quarter of this year saw the lowest number of first quarter reconnections and it was the second lowest number for any quarter since the CSO began collecting data in 2011.

I thank the Deputy. Unlike connections in the delivery of new housing, reconnections are not a measure of tackling vacancy and dereliction, as many vacant properties never lost their connections. The vacant property refurbishment grant, funded under the croí cónaithe towns fund, has been a key measure in addressing vacancy and dereliction. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, more than 17,400 applications had been made to local authorities, with more than 13,100 of those applications approved and more than 5,300 grants paid, amounting to almost €285 million of grant funding paid out. That is an important success of that scheme. The grant provides up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as principal private residences and for properties that will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. In addition, the Government approved the introduction of a vacant above the shop grant, with a package of up to €140,000 to be made available in cases where vacant above the shop space is being converted or refurbished for residential use and the commercial element is there as well. The additional grant amount for these properties recognises the complexities involved in bringing this space into use. The package includes an expert advice grant of up to €5,000. The new vacant above the shop grant and expert advice grant were launched on 1 April 2026, with applications and information on the grants available online. In the housing plan, a commitment was also given to explore an extension of the vacant above the shop grant for properties owned by small or micro companies. This work is being undertaken and will be completed by the end of the year.

I find it astounding and unbelievable that the Minister would say this is not a measure.

It is not a measure.

This is a CSO figure that shows the lowest number for any first quarter in 15 years. That is a measurement. Regardless of whether the Minister agrees with it or wants to accept it is his issue, but these are the facts. I printed them off.

I did not question the facts.

We have the lowest number for any first quarter and the Minister says it is not a measure. The Minister can disagree with me, but he should not say these figures are not right because they are right. The Government is not delivering. This proves the Government is not delivering on dereliction because the vast majority of these derelict sites are not connected to an electrical supply, so if there were no reconnections or the number of reconnections was low,-----

Thank you, Deputy.

-----that shows that the Government's policy on dereliction has failed. These are the facts. I am not making them up.

The Minister to respond.

I am sure the Minister can recognise that these figures are accurate.

The Deputy seems to be under a basic misapprehension about how the grant works. A property does not have to be disconnected from electricity to get the grant. Therefore, the CSO statistics might be correct, but they do not reflect the argument or opinion the Deputy is putting forward. The conclusion he is drawing from them is incorrect. No one is disputing CSO statistics, but the Deputy's conclusion is incorrect because the connections do not reflect how many vacant properties have been refurbished. The facts are that 13,100 applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant have been approved and 5,300 to the value of almost €285 million have been paid out. If that is not a measure of the success of the scheme, I do not know what is. This has been an extremely popular-----

Thank you, Minister

-----and successful scheme and the above the shop grant is now adding to it.

It is unbelievable that the Minister would say my conclusions are wrong. I am using CSO figures. The Minister does not have any figures to contradict mine, so I am right. They prove the Government's policy on dereliction is failing. I will give another figure to prove how the Government is failing. Some 2,361 homes were self-assessed as liable for the vacant homes tax in 2025. According to CSO figures - the CSO is probably making all this up, if we go with what the Minister believes - in the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 70,000 vacant homes. Under the Government's vacant homes policy, 2,361 homes were liable out of 70,000. If those 70,000 were delivered-----

Thank you, Deputy.

-----it would help to solve the housing crisis. The Minister said he was looking at staged payments. Where are the staged payments? People want to turn these vacant homes around.

Deputy, your time is up.

They do not have the money and they do not have the support from the Minister.

As the Deputy will know and understand, in relation to the number of vacant properties, properties become vacant and not vacant. They are not all the same properties.

Some of them have been vacant for 20 years.

We have significant schemes to tackle vacancy and dereliction. They are being availed of by the public. They are bringing a significant number of properties back into use. I want to see them used even more and see even more properties being brought back into use to tackle vacancy and dereliction, and that is what we will continue to do.

Is the vacant homes tax working?