Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of buildings Carlow County Council refurbished; the number that are going back into local authority stock; the number that will be going for sale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27760/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. This funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.

An annualised breakdown by local authority, including Carlow County Council, of the funding provided and the number of properties remediated under the Voids programme for the years 2014 up to and including 2023 is available on my Department's website at the following link:

Local authorities are encouraged to acquire vacant/derelict properties to be upgraded as new, value-for-money social homes via the Buy & Renew Scheme. Since it was introduced in 2016, Carlow Co. Co. have brought 39 units back into use.

Alongside the acquisition and upgrade as new social homes of existing properties in need of refurbishment, in recent years an increasing number of local authorities are tackling more substantial projects involving derelict properties. This allows for local authorities to tackle dereliction where substantial construction work is involved and to produce further new social homes. This work is tackled alongside a local authority's programme of construction on green field sites. Alongside Buy & Renew acquisitions, it creates opportunities for local authorities to respond to more significant dereliction in town centres. Carlow have a number of projects in this bracket both onsite or going through the project approval stages.

Units refurbished under these schemes and the Voids programme are for use as social housing.