Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before Senator Reilly responds to the Minister of State, and in light of the discussion we have had on this matter and the fact that some local authorities do not discharge their responsibilities along the lines desired by the Department, I wish to comment further. I have been informed that Cork County Council has left some houses vacant for between two and three years, which is totally unacceptable. I appreciate that the Minister of State will not accept the amendment. However, I ask her to consider introducing something on Report Stage that would place an obligation and responsibility on local authorities. This would help to obviate the housing Minister calling in the various factions and saying if they do not do such and such, action will be taken. If the Minister of State does not spell out what would be done if the authorities do not discharge vacant houses, I suggest that she starts from a baseline by calling on them to act on these dwellings within a certain specified time.

Notwithstanding what the Minister of State has explained about the nature of refurbishments, can a timeline and model be imposed on local authorities that will not allow them to wiggle out of their responsibilities? I only pose these questions in order to be helpful. A huge number of people are on housing lists but a significant number of dwellings seem to have been left vacant for long periods. The root cause is not just resources but the administration and competence of the housing sections in various local authorities.

Can we be assured that the Minister of State will be more proactive in this regard? I am not reflecting on the excellent work being done by the Minister of State but it appears there is a gap that needs to be addressed urgently.