Dereliction into direction: Fianna Fáil’s drive to bring homes back to life
Published on: 18 November 2025
Fianna Fáil’s new housing plan ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’ has a particular focus on ending dereliction in our communities – 20,000 homes brought back into use through Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant
Fianna Fáil Minister, and Minister for Housing, James Browne today launched the new housing plan ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’ will be an action plan to ramp up delivery of homes.
Up to 2030, we are determined to deliver over 300,000 homes during the lifetime of our plan. This will require significant and targeted investment in infrastructure, regulatory reform, zoning of land and tax measures to accelerate private sector delivery.
Building on ‘Housing for All’ launched in 2021, which helped deliver 137,000 new homes, Fianna Fáil in Government is unequivocal in our commitment to pulling every lever at our disposal to ensure everybody involved in the building of homes in this country takes a hands-on approach to get homes built.
Crucially, as part of today’s launch of the new housing plan, Minister Browne has set out the plans for ending dereliction. Among the key initiatives are:
- 20,000 homes brought back into use, supported via the Vacant Property and Refurbishment Grant.
- New Derelict Property Tac introduced, administered and collected by the Revenue Commissioner to bring derelict homes back into use.
- Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant expanded to include ‘Above the Shop’ top up Grant and an Expert Advice Grant to support bringing vacant shop spaces into use as homes.
- Living City Initiative extended to 2030 and expanded to include residential properties built before 1975 and the NPF Regional Centre towns of Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny, and Sligo.
- Local authorities will increase the number of sites on the Derelict Sites Register and increase enforcement, and collection of unpaid levies.
- An aggregated digital, national Derelict Sites Register will be published annually including mapping and standardised details for each individual site registered by local authorities.
- Where owners of vacant/derelict properties fail to engage with local authorities, they will use compulsory acquisition powers to buy these properties, supported by available funding schemes including Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Housing, welcomed this morning’s launch of the new housing plan and it's plan for dereliction:
“With over one hundred thousand vacant buildings across the State, many of which are also derelict, it is vitally important that additional measures are implemented to bring as many of these properties back into use for residential purposes as soon as possible. There are a range of measures in this Plan which will both incentivise property owners to act, but also to penalise those who fail to do so in a timely manner. Implementation will be critical and it is an area I have a strong personal interest in
Fianna Fáil in Government is not just talking about revitalising communities - we’re making it happen
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Séamus McGrath
