Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Vacant home officers are now in situin every local authority, including that in Louth. Their role is to go out proactively and bring vacant units back into use. Traditionally, people would have rung the planning officer, but that takes some time. We will look to see whether we can expand the role of the vacant home officers to incorporate the planning aspect. Clearly, the local authority, in any area, is the fountain of knowledge in that area. We want the local authorities to be proactive. We will take this up with the Department. We have put in resources to provide additional vacant homes officers, and there are also town centre officers as well as people dealing with derelict sites. We are determining whether we can put units in place in each local authority to provide that people will be able to pick up the phone and ask whether they are exempt.

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