€1.74m allocated for reactivation of social homes in Waterford

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed this morning’s announcement that €1,474,020 has been allocated to bring more local authority homes back into use in County Waterford.

Minister Cummins said that the Voids Programme Funding is making more efficient use of our existing housing stock, which will bring more homes back into active use throughout the county.

“The Voids Programme supports local authorities in making vacant homes ready for re-letting and works to tackle vacancy and dereliction to ensure vacant properties are re-used for housing.”

€40 million in allocations will be given to local authorities for 2026 to prepare approximately 2,200 local authority homes for re-letting. This is an increase of €9m (29%) compared to last year’s allocation. Locally, this year’s funding has increased by 27.3%

“Bringing vacant housing back into use across towns and villages is essential to help ease pressure on the existing housing stock. It will boost supply and deliver much-needed social homes, while rejuvenating our towns”, Minister Cummins continued.

“No one wants to see empty council properties at a time of such housing need, so this funding will compliment existing local authority resources to ensure that properties are returned to productive use as speedily as possible.

“I would like to commend Waterford City & County Council for their work in this area but of course there is always room for improvement. The new vacancy and turnaround time targets will mean that properties spend less time empty and more time providing security and stability for people who need them most.”