€10m in funding awarded to return over 450 vacant local authority houses to use

By Echo Reporter

UP TO €10 million in funding has being awarded to Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council to return over 450 vacant local authority properties to use this year.

Funding from the Department of Housing will see Dublin City Council receive €8.3 million to refurbish 377 properties in the city, while South Dublin County Council will receive just under €1.4 million for 92 properties.

Fine Gael TD and Minister of State, Catherine Byrne, welcomed the announcement by Housing Minister Simon Coveney that €9.7 million in funding is being awarded to the two local authorities.

Deputy Byrne said: “This funding will create new homes in Dublin South Central and right across the city for homeless households and families on housing waiting lists. It will greatly assist our local authorities in achieving a quick turnaround time for re-letting units which are currently vacant and in need of refurbishment.

“This move is a continuation of the Government’s commitment to deliver 47,000 housing units across the country by 2021 at a cost of €5.35 billion. We are committed to supporting local authorities in carrying out work that both improves the national housing stock and ensures that existing social housing stock is used efficiently.”

The announcement on Monday outlined the provision of over €24 million across 31 local authorities for the return of over 1,400 vacant local authority properties to productive use this year.