Cork council 'not informed' of funding for extra vacant homes officers

At no stage was the local authority made aware that it could seek more funds for vacant officers, Cork county councillors jointly said in a letter to the department.

The Irish Examiner has since revealed that not a single local authority across the country has applied for extra vacancy officers, which suggests a “breakdown in communications”, according to Cork East TD David Stanton, who raised the issue in the Dáil.

Around one in 25 homes in the country is vacant, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has estimated, based on metered electricity consumption.

After last year’s census, the CSO said there were nearly 167,000 vacant houses and apartments.

Of those, nearly 48,500 homes vacant in 2016 were still vacant in 2022, while 23,500 were vacant in 2011, 2016, and 2022.

There are now vacant home officers in place across all 31 local authorities except Donegal.

'Get the finger out'

Last month, Mr Stanton told the Dáil that Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey has previously said that “he would need a vacant homes officer for every town in the county” and that he was “amazed” to hear the local authority has not availed of the funding for new posts.

Responding to Mr Stanton, Mr O’Donnell said that the onus was on the local authority to make the case for more officers.

“If a request is made and we agree to it, it will be up to the local authorities to be proactive and to make applications,” he said. 

"If they are complaining to Deputy Stanton that the resources are not in place and if he gets a commitment from the Government that the resources are there, then I'm sorry, but the local authority needs to get the finger out and make the application."

However, Cork County Council says that at no stage was it told by the department that extra funding is available and that it could apply for it.

In a letter to the secretary-general of the department, Cork County Council has asked whether it can apply for more funding for officers, whether a business case needs to be made, and whether Government funding is available if successful.

The letter says that there never has been any official communication around extra funding from the department, or any application process for more vacant home officers.

While it has not appointed an extra vacant homes officer, Cork County Council has created a property activation and regeneration unit with a full-time equivalent of five staff to tackle vacancy, dereliction, and property activation.

A spokesperson said: “Cork County Council has therefore, in agreement with the department, put in place a dedicated vacant homes unit with a full-time equivalent of five staff dedicated to implementing the vacant homes officer function within the county.” 

This unit can be contacted on VHO@corkcoco.ie, the spokesperson said.

Mr Stanton called on the department to inform local authorities on what funding is available as a matter of priority, saying that a concerted effort must be made to work together to tackle vacancy, which he said is blighting towns across the country.

A Department of Housing spokesperson said: "In January 2022, the Department communicated with local authorities outlining that funding, made available since 2018 to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office including a vacant homes officer, would be increased from €50,000 to €60,000 per annum, from mid-2022."

The spokesperson said this supports the commitment in Housing for All to ensure that VHOs are full-time and added that 30 out of 31 local authorities now have a full-time VHO in place.

"To March 21, no local authorities have contacted the Department to request funding for additional VHOs."