Donegal returning vacant social homes figures under Voids programme released

Government-released figures show that 69 vacant social homes in Donegal were brought back into active use in 2025 under the Voids programme. 

The Voids Programme supports local authorities in preparing vacant homes for re-letting and builds on the ongoing work to tackle vacancy and dereliction to ensure vacant properties are re-used for housing.

Donegal’s total number of vacant social homes brought back into active use under the Voids programme in 2025 is its third-lowest annual number since the programme’s commencement in 2014.

Local authorities that have brought more vacant social homes back into active use are Cork City, Cork County, Dublin City, Kildare, Limerick, Louth, Meath, South Dublin, Tipperary, Waterford, and Wicklow. 

Altogether, since 2014, Donegal has brought back 1,125 vacant social homes into active use, an average of more than 90 per year. 

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Nationally, more than 2,100 vacant social homes were brought back into active use in 2025

“The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, commented: “Whether housing is publicly owned or privately owned, leaving homes vacant is simply not acceptable, so I welcome these figures. 

“Even though we are delivering more social homes than at any point in a generation, demand remains strong. Therefore, allowing properties to sit unoccupied is a missed opportunity we can’t afford.

“It is also positive to see the continued progress of actively shifting to a planned maintenance approach for our social housing stock, as we can see from the lower numbers again this year.”