Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives from the CSO for their submission, which makes for very interesting reading. Without data analytics, we cannot fully understand and address the complexity of the housing problem. That is really important. Figures and data do not lie when presented in this manner by the CSO. I acknowledge the infographics. The way in which the CSO has distilled and communicated this information is very helpful and makes it easy for people to understand. One can get lost in the haze of figures. I am not a great man for figures, but what gets measured gets managed. That is a really important line. If we want to understand this fully, we need to know what to measure and the facts and data around that. As such, the CSO has done us and the country a great service. It is an amazing and important organisation. So many decisions, in particular political decisions, are made on an emotional basis rather than on the basis of fact. The more facts we have to address these problems through housing policy, the better equipped we will be to come up with solutions. It is worth saying that.

The recent census figures exposed the State's historically dysfunctional housing policy. We are hopefully in a period of change in terms of addressing the issue but it is important to note the historic position. Looking at the figures, it is clear that the whole scheme has been dysfunctional in the way it has been managed across many sectors, bodies, agencies and local authorities. This has shown up major problems. The census found that there were approximately 250,000 vacant homes in the State, of which 62,000 were vacant holiday homes. That is set out clearly in the CSO's infographic. This is at a time when we have a housing crisis and people living in hotels, hostels and bed-and-breakfast accommodation. What is really interesting when one breaks down the figures in more detail is the fact that total number of vacant dwellings in Dublin, including holiday homes, is approximately 36,000. In real terms, that is in the region of 10% of the available housing stock. It is a staggering figure for the city of Dublin, where we live and in which we are operating. The figure for Leinster is over 90,000. The figure for Munster is 83,000. The figure in Connacht is 52,000 and in the parts of Ulster relevant to the CSO's work it is over 33,000. This is against the background of a situation where over 100,000 people are on the housing lists of the 31 local authorities. That is clearly unacceptable but the issues there are for another day. We are dealing with figures here today rather than detailed policy.

What is the reason for the vacancies? The question relates to the CSO's desktop work and the engagement and site visits of census enumerators who identified rural houses which have been abandoned or boarded up. The CSO provided some statistics, including, for example, the fact that there were 4,165 people in nursing homes. There was another group of 1,469 people in hospitals. That is very interesting information and a new way of doing business for the CSO as I understand it. How does it glean that sort of information? The enumerator came to my house six times before finding me in. That is a challenge in a small cul-de-sac of 28 houses. I note the categories "for sale", "deceased", "vacant long term", "rental properties", "renovations", "new builds", "boarded up", "habitable", "not inhabitable", and "relatives". There is a huge amount of information there and it strikes me as a very intense and detailed piece of work. Can Mr. Dalton share with the committee how the CSO pulled all of that together? While I know it is accurate, how was that accuracy assured? That is the most pertinent and important aspect of the CSO's work to housing policy. I thank the CSO for its input and this very important information.