406. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans within his Department to support local authorities who wish to support community groups taking over derelict buildings within towns and villages to combat dereliction and improve streetscapes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47120/26]

426. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if grants are available to local authorities to assist with dereliction in towns within their areas of responsibility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47111/26]

427. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities can step in to improve the appearance of derelict shops and businesses in towns and villages within their administrative areas, where the owner might not be cooperating or where the owner may not be known, allowing an improvement in the street scape; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47112/26]

428. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if grants are available to local authorities to assist with dereliction in towns within their areas of responsibility; if there are plans to create such funding; if so, the timeline involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47113/26]

429. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities can, following the CPO of derelict buildings and closed businesses, allow community groups without their own property to take on the responsibility of the CPO property; if grants are available to set up such community group pop-up shops; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47114/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 406, 426, 427, 428 and 429 together.

The Derelict Sites Act 1990 imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site as defined in the Act. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site.

Each local authority maintains a Derelict Sites Register under section 8 of the Act for sites which they consider are derelict under the Act. Sites entered on the Derelict Sites Register are subject to an annual derelict sites levy of 7% of market value, which will continue to apply until the site is rendered non-derelict. However, the placing of sites on the register and the collecting of levies on those sites are part of the overall process that local authorities undertake with the owners of derelict sites they identify. Local authorities will engage directly with site owners to try to bring these sites back into productive use and out of dereliction before they are formally listed on the register. This direct engagement can often lead to those units being brought back into productive use, which is what we all want.

Where local authorities find that the acquisition of particular vacant and derelict properties is the appropriate mechanism to return them to use, they are enabled by the provisions of the Housing Act and the Derelict Sites Act to acquire them compulsorily. This approach is now supported through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), which has established a €150 million revolving fund specifically for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties (residential and/or commercial), if necessary using their compulsory purchase powers and to carry out any associated works needed to make them more attractive for re-use or sale. The current total of residential and commercial properties approved for inclusion on Local Authority’s Approved Call 3 Programmes is 1,418.

Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, more is being done to tackle vacancy and dereliction aggressively. The existing grants and schemes are being improved, expanded and further promoted. Their use will ensure that additional homes are provided by renovating and refurbishing existing homes and repurposing commercial and ‘above the shop’ vacant space. As a result, families and individuals can become part of, and contribute to vibrant thriving communities.

These actions are building on existing schemes and programmes, such as CPO Activation Programme (launched in April 2023) that require a proactive and systematic approach by local authorities to identifying vacant and derelict properties and engaging with owners to bring those properties back into use and using their compulsory purchase powers where engagement with owners is not successful.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant introduced in July 2022, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. In order to qualify for the grant, the property must be vacant for two years or more at the time of application.

This grant may be used in combination with S.I. No. 75/2022 - Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2022 which provides an exemption from the requirement for planning permission for the conversion of certain types of vacant commercial property into residential use, such as ‘living over the shop’ accommodation, up to a maximum of 9 residential units. The Regulations, which were first extended in 2022 under SI 75/2022 to include an exemption for the conversion of vacant pubs, have now been extended to the end of 2028. Up to the end of 2024, local authorities received 1,457 notifications from developers intending to avail of the exemptions. If acted on, this would result in 3,429 new homes across the country.

Also the Deputy may wish to note that the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), overseen by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG), is targeted at settlements and rural areas located outside city boundaries and the Dublin metropolitan area. Local Authorities and other state funded bodies can seek funding for local community facilities and development projects including the through the re-use and regeneration of local vacant and derelict buildings, particularly in town centre locations.

Further information on the RRDF and its current Call for Proposals can be accessed on the DRCDG website: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/policy-information/rural-regeneration-and-development-fund/#eligibility