Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the tax incentives for landlords who make their properties available to those deemed homeless. I am not against tax incentives, but the Irish way of dealing with things is that if there is a problem, we throw a tax incentive at it to see if it will work. This is not a good way to deal with the issue. On the tax incentives identified such as capital gains tax, capital acquisitions tax and company tax, will this have the benefit of dealing with the issue because I presume - correct me if I am wrong - this has to be focused and concentrated and that somebody buying a house where I live cannot apply? There should be a need identified in a particular area. The facilities and resources should be available for somebody who is in a vulnerable position. The assistance needs to be targeted. The properties being bought and sold could be few and far between; therefore, the tax incentive would not work. My initial view is that this is a distraction from the real problem, that is, suggesting a tax incentive will sort out the issue.