This is super news and one of the many strategies that need to be deployed to combat the problem of housing needs. Construction jobs will be created and will make a real difference to peoples’ lives. The disparity of costs per unit between certain counties needs to be examined further I believe.
Details of the allocations are below.
Allocation
Local Authority Allocation No of Voids approved for return to use Local Authority Average Unit Cost
Carlow €173,000 14 €12,357
Cavan €183,000 8 €22,875
Clare €400,000 20 €20,000
Cork City €1,585,000 92 €17,228
Cork County €1,181,000 87 €13,575
Donegal €414,000 59 €7,017
Dublin City €3,963,000 236 €16,792
Fingal €823,000 52 €15,827
South Dublin €440,000 35 €12,571
D.L.R. €55,000 2 €27,500
Galway City €243,000 21 €11,571
Galway County €515,000 32 €16,094
Kerry €304,000 22 €13,818
Kildare €470,000 18 €26,111
Kilkenny €264,000 10 €26,400
Laois €178,000 14 €12,714
Leitrim €75,000 5 €15,000
Limerick €498,000 55 €9,055
Longford €150,000 7 €21,429
Louth €76,000 4 €19,000
Mayo €364,000 50 €7,280
Meath €616,000 31 €19,871
Offaly €289,000 19 €15,211
Roscommon €66,000 6 €11,000
Sligo €72,000 5 €14,400
Tipperary €489,000 37 €13,216
Waterford €464,000 2 3 €20,174
Westmeath €220,000 26 €8,462
Wexford €150,000 5 €30,000
Wicklow €280,000 13 €21538
Total €15,000,000 1008 €14,881
• Monaghan made no application for this funding round. It received funding to bring 11 homes back into use in April 2014.
Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan, TD, today allocated €15m in funding to bring back into use 1008 vacant local authority units. The funding is part of a year-long campaign driven by Minister O’Sullivan that will see €30m invested and nearly 2,000 vacant houses returned to beneficial use.
According to Minister O’Sullivan, “I am determined to use every lever available to me to increase the number of social homes. One of the biggest scandals of recent years has been the high number of vacant, boarded up local authority homes. Today’s allocations will refurbish 1,008 of these units and transform them into family homes. It brings to €30m the amount invested in this important programme this year. This investment will see nearly 2,000 local authority homes coming on stream over the coming months.”
The investment will create and sustain hundreds of jobs in the construction sector. In framing proposals local authorities were encouraged to examine the role that community based organisations who recruit, train and engage long-term unemployed people can play in the refurbishment programme.
“This is a positive programme that increases social housing supply quickly. I expect many of the new homes refurbished under this programme to be tenanted in the coming months and I intend to issue a report on completions and tenancies of new homes at the end of October. The refurbishment of boarded up houses is also a very positive development for a local community as it removes an eyesore and a space that can often become a focal point for anti-social behaviour.”
• In April 2014 the Minister announced €15m to kickstart the refurbishment of vacant local authority houses. This funding was provided for in Budget 2014. That €15m investment will bring back into use 953 homes. Work on this part of the programme is already underway.
• In May 2014 the stimulus package announced by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, TD, contained €50m for social housing. €15m of this funding is being used for the allocations announced today that will bring back into use 1008 units.