Council allocated €810,000 to get ‘void’ homes re-let

WICKLOW County Council has been granted €810,000 to refurbish social housing units which will be re-let to individuals struggling with homelessness or on a housing list.

As part of the July Stimulus Programme, the Government announced over €40 million for the refurbishment of voids, the largest single amount ever announced under the voids programme.

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD said: ‘ There has been a fantastic response from local authorities to the 2020 Voids Stimulus Programme. Nationally 2,398 applications from Local Authorities across Ireland have been approved at a cost of €39.8 million, with further applications anticipated.

‘I am delighted that Wicklow will be allocated funding of €810,000 to refurbish and re-let 66 social housing units, which will help individuals and families who are struggling with homelessness or who are on the social housing list.’

The county council made applications which were categorised into three funding streams; standard voids at an average cost of approximately €11,500, homeless voids at an average cost of €17,300 and long-term voids at an average cost of €47,000.

Minister Harris said: ‘ The Department is in a position to approve these applications and Wicklow County Council can now begin its work on making these vacant units available for individuals and families so they can start a new chapter in their lives and make a home for themselves.’

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, has requested that Wicklow County Council re-let the units as quickly as possible.

He said: ‘I am very glad to see such an uptake in the scheme and at such a swift pace. The Department is now in a position to approve applications and Local Authorities such as Wicklow County Council can get to work in bringing vacant social housing units back into use.

‘I have made it very clear that I want to see works carried out and all units allocated by the end of this year and local authorities will be providing status updates to the Department.

‘We know that Covid-19 has had an impact on housing delivery targets this year so the refurbishment and re-letting of voids is vitally important. I would urge Wicklow County Council to refurbish and re-let their units as soon as possible.’