12. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has any plans to investigate the rate of home vacancy around the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65819/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

I draw the Minister's attention to a number of vacant homes in Ringfort housing estate in Rathmolyon, County Meath. The families concerned did everything right. They paid their deposits, spending tens of thousands of euro, but the builder has refused them their homes. They have been put under massive stress, with some of them putting off starting a family and some having to move back into their parents' home. After all of that, five years later, they are being refused their homes. What can the Minister do to enable these families to move into their homes?

Sentiment score: -0.18

I accept the question I am asking the Minister is tangential to the one on the questions paper. I urge him to go off script for the next couple of minutes to address it. We have a situation where houses that were built are vacant. At the heart of this particular problem is that there are two separate companies with the same owners and directors. One company has bought the debt of another company, giving it secured creditor status. This means many other creditors will receive nothing, including these families, and the houses will remain vacant for now. The families are waiting to move into their homes, which are vacant. There is nothing they can do to get what they are entitled to. There is no mechanism on the part of the Government to get them into their homes. It frustrates me because Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, had the initial loan that was given to the builder. It allowed that loan to be bought out, which enabled the particular builder to become a secured creditor and be in charge of the liquidation process. These families are now left with nothing. Will the Minister address this matter?

Sentiment score: 0.02

I appreciate that and I am not going to comment on the insolvency process happening at present, other than to say the State is now on the hook for €700,000 because Revenue is one of those creditors. There are tools the State can use to protect its own interests in this, such as the office of corporate enforcement, which can take a High Court challenge to a liquidator that has been selected. Revenue itself can do the same. It is really unfortunate we have a situation that could well be replicated over and over again in the future. There are plenty of construction companies dealing with the inflating costs of building that could find themselves in difficulty. We need to make sure individuals who put deposits down have those deposits ring-fenced in some manner, maybe in an escrow for example, to prevent them losing that, but also that the contracts are fulfilled. Here is the key: two separate companies with the same directors and owners are using the corporate veil to separate their assets from their liabilities. We have seen it before in the likes of Clerys, Paris Bakery and other situations. We need a mechanism to ensure people are held responsible for what they owe people with these things.

Sentiment score: 0.21