Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentations. A number of them have been prominent in keeping the issue of vacant properties and sites in the public arena and I urge them to continue to do so because it will add to the pressure many members are trying to put on the Government to have this issue resolved. All of us are greatly frustrated that thus far, of the five pillars of Rebuilding Ireland, the one that could be delivered quickest has received the least investment. In this respect, the Government's response is the wrong way around. If the Minister was here, he would defend Rebuilding Ireland and point out that three initiatives had been included in the programme to try to deal with vacant properties. They are the allocation of €70 million to the Housing Agency to deliver 1,600 units over three years, the provision of €6 million in funding for a repair and lease scheme being piloted in counties Carlow and Kilkenny and changes to the living city initiative. I am interested in hearing the delegates' views on the detail of these schemes and whether the funding provided is sufficient. Clearly, these are three areas in which Government action is under way and it would be very helpful if we could push for greater outcomes from them.

The Housing Agency is producing an overall plan to tackle the issue of vacant properties. I am sure Mr. John O'Connor, with whom we will speak afterwards, is furiously writing notes in the Visitors Gallery. The delegates provided a menu of policy options and while they would clearly like all of them to be implemented, I ask them to outline what their key priorities would be and what headline items would really make a difference. We know from the good research the Housing Agency has carried out that it is equally concerned to achieve progress in this area.

A third issue which was not discussed is cost. Not only is use of vacant properties the quickest way to increase stock, but they are also cheaper than new builds. The Minister issued a press release on Friday on some of the new rapid build projects in south County Dublin, specifically in Tallaght and Clondalkin. The figures he has provided show a three bedroom rapid build unit will cost €245,000. Sinn Féin's will not oppose the provision of rapid build houses, provided they are well built and provide good quality homes. However, according to the Department, the average cost of a standard council house is €180,000. How much would it cost per unit to bring voids back into use? I am particularly interested in hearing from the Peter McVerry Trust about its experience of bringing voids back into use. What are the costs involved in doing so? This information will clearly strengthen the argument for taking action.

On a vacant property tax, what is the rationale for the timeframe of 12 months? Do the delegates have examples of vacant property taxes in operation elsewhere? Are they similar to what has been proposed here?

I am also interested in the idea of a register. What is the most effective way to establish one? Should it be a statutory requirement that property owners register their properties and should penalties apply to those who fail to do so?

Mr. Reynolds has raised the issue of completions on numerous occasions and Dr. Sirr wrote about them recently. The Department is working on a building control Bill and we expect to see the heads of the Bill soon. Would this legislation be an appropriate place in which to insert a statutory requirement that local authorities collate accurate statistics for inclusion in a house completions register? If not, where should such a requirement be placed?

Unfortunately, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd has left the meeting because every time he refers to the National Asset Management Agency and local authorities, someone has to step in to defend the local authorities. Local authorities can only do what the Department allows them to do. It is important to note that while some of them turned down good properties linked with NAMA, they often did so either because they were not given funding by the Department or for other reasons. It is important, therefore, that we consider the culpability of the Department in the matter. This is not a question, but I make the point because it is important to do so. The reason I do so is that one of the issues that will arise when we meet representatives of the Housing Agency is that of the properties banks are offering for purchase to the State. These properties are not for sale on the open market. If we are to learn the lessons from the lack of take-up of NAMA linked properties, we have to apply them to properties now available, namely, those being offered by the banks.