The housing crisis continues to affect every town and village across Ireland. It remains one of the biggest challenges facing families, young people, older people and workers. As a TD, I hear every week from people struggling to find a home, buy a home or to cope with raising rents. The message is clear - more houses and more needs to be done. There is no single solution to the housing crisis and no silver bullet. We need a mix of actions. We must increase supply, support first-time buyers, improve infrastructure, speed up planning and make better use of homes we already have. One of the most urgent issues is the number of vacant and derelict properties. CSO figures - not my figures - show there are almost 70,000 vacant homes nationwide. This is a shocking figure at a time when homelessness is rising and families are in desperate need of housing. In Laois alone, there are almost 963 vacant properties. These homes are sitting empty in our towns and villages while people are struggling to find somewhere to live. Many are tied up in probate or legal issues and others need major renovation that owners just cannot afford. At the same time, more than 17,000 people are living in emergency accommodation, including 5,000 children. If even a portion of these vacant homes were brought back into use, it would make a real difference. It would provide homes for families, ease pressure on emergency accommodation and help bring back life to the towns and villages not alone throughout my county of Laois, which I represent but every county in Ireland. This is a problem that can be seen in all towns and villages. I welcome the grants for vacant properties and over-shop conversions. I also want to be very positive about the steps already helping to bring them back into use. I thank the Ministers and the Government agencies working on this. We must accept that land will not always be available for the development of houses. This is why we must focus more on the homes we already have which are lying idle. We need stronger supports for that and less bureaucracy, faster planning and probate processes and more incentives to bring vacant properties back into use. At a time when so many people are looking for a home, we cannot allow thousands of properties to sit empty and fall further into decline. Vacancy and dereliction must be a central part of the national response to the housing crisis. I would like to take this opportunity to advise everybody to reflect on their nearest town or village, take a walk through it and see how many vacant properties there are. Putting aside probate and all the difficulties as regards ownership, there must be something that can be done with a short timeline of 12 or 24 months to see work carried out on them. I do not mean taking them from people but what was done all my life on the council - a valuer values the property at its value on the day. That money is put aside and when the owner comes forward, they are paid the money.
Sentiment score: 0.02
As I said, I welcome the introduction of the new grant supports aimed at turning vacant buildings and above-the-shop spaces into liveable spaces. I also welcome the €70,000 grant. However, if the Minister of State goes to any town and village in his local area, he will see, given the cost of building and everything else, that despite the €70,000 grant to do up a house, where the individual owns it, it is still very difficult to do. I could cost anything from €270,000 to €300,000 to do up any of these buildings. We talked about acquisition payments. On the CPO, I thank everybody in Laois County Council who is involved in this. It is a tremendous concept and the council has done an awful lot of work but we need money from the Department. We can have headings and the Ministers, in fairness to them, can do their level best to bring out schemes but the bottom line is this is taking far too long, from the announcement of the scheme to the time a local authority can take it up, get the money and get blocks and boots on the ground. That is not the Minister of State's problem; it is problem in the Department of housing. In regard to the acquisition payments, I guarantee the Minister of State that when a house is subject to a compulsory purchase order, it has to be perfect for living in because you get no money to do up the house. That is a fact and the Minister of State needs to know that. People accuse local authorities of not acting fast enough but if the house is not in turnkey condition, they get no money from the Department to do it up. On the buy and renew scheme, where a council can CPO houses, while I agree with it 100%, I will give the Minister of State an example. In the case of the County Hotel in Portlaoise, this has been going on for over 12 years and we still do not have confirmation to do it. That is what is really killing people in my area. Why is it taking so long? It is a no-brainer to do up houses. I remember the main street in Portlaoise. I can remember the main streets in Mountrath, Mountmellick, Portarlington, Abbeyleix and all these places. If we are serious about bringing people back into the heart of a town-----
Sentiment score: 0.01
The Minister of State only said it himself a minute ago. We knew everybody who was there-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
There is no need for the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach to shout and roar at me.
Sentiment score: -0.30