More than half a million euro is to be provided to Limerick City and County Council to refurbish 32 void and vacant housing units.
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Simon Coveney announced the allocation of funding, stating that 32 homes across Limerick will be brought back into use after €554,000 in funding has been provided to Limerick City and County Council as part of the nationwide scheme.
The move is a continuation of the Government’s commitment under the Social Housing Strategy to deliver 47,000 housing units by 2021 at a cost of €5.35 billion.
Minister Coveney said “This announcement today will bring housing units back into use in a timely manner for homeless households and families on housing waiting lists.
“Feedback from local authorities in respect of this programme is very positive. Since the introduction of the programme in 2014 valuable assistance has been provided to local authorities in dealing with vacant units and significant progress has been made in tackling the backlog. These measures will also greatly assist local authorities in achieving quick turnaround and re-letting times for such units.
“I’m happy to be able to continue the vacant property programme and to support the local authorities in the provision of funding for these very worthwhile and important schemes for local authority tenants,” concluded the Minister.
Seamus Hanrahan, Senior Architect with Limerick City and County Council said: “We’re delighted to receive the funding from the Department to bring the houses back into use.
“We have identified units across the city and county that can be renovated and re-occupied by families and individuals in need of a home.
Since its introduction in 2014 the Department’s Vacant Properties (Voids) Programme has provided approximately €85 million of funding which has result in over 7,200 properties being return to productive use. A key priority of this scheme is to re-house homeless families to the fullest extent possible in homes that have been restored to an energy efficient condition.
