A total of €24 million has been allocated for the return of over 1,400 vacant local authority properties to be put into productive use this year.

Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Simon Coveney, TD, said 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: "Under the Government's Social Housing Strategy 2020, and reaffirmed under Pillar 2 of Rebuilding Ireland my Department is committed to supporting local authorities in carrying out work that both improves the national housing stock and ensures that existing social housing stock is used efficiently. This announcement will bring another 1,400 housing units back into use in a timely manner for homeless households and families on housing waiting lists.

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"Going forward funding will be linked to local authorities putting in place ongoing maintenance programmes to address the issue of vacant properties. These measures will mean that there will not be a high number of vacant units, and local authorities will be continued to be supported in the remediation of any such vacant units that do occur."

(CD/LM)