141. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the voids programme review committed to in the Government's housing plan. [37768/26]
Sentiment score: 0.09
On page 76 of the Government's housing plan, there is a commitment to develop a new voids funding programme that would "incentivise lower vacancy rates and faster turnaround times for vacant local authority stock". The plan was launched 187 days ago on 13 November 2025. In that time, only one action has been taken on the voids scheme.
Sentiment score: -0.13
The Minister talked to colleagues earlier about policy. I launched a policy to return vacant, boarded-up homes to use in housing families. This is the low-hanging fruit and I still cannot understand why the Minister, his Department and the other Ministers in the Government do not tackle it. The voids programme for 2026 will allow for the return of 2,200 homes, with local authorities receiving only €11,000 per unit when there are more than 4,500 houses boarded up and vacant. Why is the Minister not being more ambitious? This is a fundamental disagreement. He will not fund local authorities to return those homes to use. This could be a success story. We could house 4,500 families if he were willing to put up the money.
Sentiment score: 0.02
The Minister mentioned the NOAC report. I will refer to some of the figures in that report. In 2024, there were 4,251 empty council houses, which was an increase from the previous year. One in four of those homes was empty longer than a year. I know of houses in my constituency that have been empty and boarded up for years. The problem is a lot of local authorities do not have the excess funding to bring the long-term, older, more complicated and more expensive homes back into use. If the Minister is only giving €11,000 per unit and the average cost, according to NOAC, is €31,000, from where will the local authorities get the funding shortfall? Many councils are struggling and do not have the money. Will the Minister commit to funding local authorities to do that work? Will he stop blaming them for not doing so when he has the ability to make the funds available to enable it? This is an easy win. I cannot understand why he will not do it.
Sentiment score: -0.01
They do not have the money to do it.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Some of them are up to 100 years old.
Sentiment score: 0.00
They cannot do so.
Sentiment score: 0.00
They cannot do it because the Government cut their funding.
Sentiment score: -0.27
145. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress being made in addressing vacancy and dereliction following reports of the lowest number of quarter 1 electricity reconnections since Central Statistics Office, CSO, data began. [37512/26]
Sentiment score: 0.04
The first quarter of this year saw the lowest number of first quarter reconnections and it was the second lowest number for any quarter since the CSO began collecting data in 2011.
Sentiment score: -0.56
I find it astounding and unbelievable that the Minister would say this is not a measure.
Sentiment score: 0.56
This is a CSO figure that shows the lowest number for any first quarter in 15 years. That is a measurement. Regardless of whether the Minister agrees with it or wants to accept it is his issue, but these are the facts. I printed them off.
Sentiment score: -0.01
We have the lowest number for any first quarter and the Minister says it is not a measure. The Minister can disagree with me, but he should not say these figures are not right because they are right. The Government is not delivering. This proves the Government is not delivering on dereliction because the vast majority of these derelict sites are not connected to an electrical supply, so if there were no reconnections or the number of reconnections was low,-----
Sentiment score: -0.19
-----that shows that the Government's policy on dereliction has failed. These are the facts. I am not making them up.
Sentiment score: -0.17
I am sure the Minister can recognise that these figures are accurate.
Sentiment score: 0.32
It is unbelievable that the Minister would say my conclusions are wrong. I am using CSO figures. The Minister does not have any figures to contradict mine, so I am right. They prove the Government's policy on dereliction is failing. I will give another figure to prove how the Government is failing. Some 2,361 homes were self-assessed as liable for the vacant homes tax in 2025. According to CSO figures - the CSO is probably making all this up, if we go with what the Minister believes - in the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 70,000 vacant homes. Under the Government's vacant homes policy, 2,361 homes were liable out of 70,000. If those 70,000 were delivered-----
Sentiment score: -0.18
-----it would help to solve the housing crisis. The Minister said he was looking at staged payments. Where are the staged payments? People want to turn these vacant homes around.
Sentiment score: -0.02
They do not have the money and they do not have the support from the Minister.
Sentiment score: -0.31
Some of them have been vacant for 20 years.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Is the vacant homes tax working?
Sentiment score: 0.00