HOUSING Minister James Browne has allocated €373 million to be drawn down by local authorities under the 2026 Second Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme.

The funding exceeds last year’s allocation by more than 20% and represents an increase of €80 million.

It comes as figures showed a dramatic decline in the number of social homes acquired by councils last year to prevent tenants from becoming homeless.

Cork county’s allocation this year is €9.5 million – an increase of €1.86 million on last year – while Cork city is to receive €20.7 million, a rise of €2.7 million. Dublin city is the biggest beneficiary with an allocation of €110 million.

The funding includes €150 million ring fenced for acquisitions that will support households to exit long-term homeless accommodation and €50m for approved housing bodies to provide accommodation for elderly or disabled persons and care leavers.

‘The acquisitions programme is, rightly, targeted at pressing need and largely operates as a last resort for our councils to utilise in order to ensure that households in the most precarious of housing situations can be protected,’ said Minister Browne.

‘The first response to housing need should always be to build more social housing and, thankfully, we are seeing many of our local authorities begin to gain the much-needed momentum in that regard, but I am driving on with the policies at Government level that means that the path is clearer for that delivery.’

Expressing optimism he predicted: ‘As we build more social homes, the need for housing acquisitions should drop away as the overall pool of social housing increases.’

Some €157 million will be available to local authorities to use at their discretion, including for tenancy sustainment or tenant-in-situ acquisitions.

There will also be a contingency of almost €16 million withheld, to support local authorities likely to draw down their full allocations and with capacity to progress further acquisitions and draw down funding from the Department this year.