Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will start with Pillar 5, and the issue relating to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures versus the other statistics coming into us. Will the Minister update us on how that is progressing and what the likely difference is between the CSO statistics and the information coming back from the local authorities and other mechanisms?

In respect of the turnaround of vacant properties or local authority voids, we need to have the debate the Minister missed last week in the Department about the definition of a void. Many members were disappointed because it was not quite what we believed a void was when we discussed the start of Rebuilding Ireland. Most of us have been in local authorities and have seen voids, sitting there for a long time, boarded up and unused, and that was what we considered to be a void. The figures, however, include the turnover of people who vacate houses because of a debt or for any other reason. Many of these properties were built in the 1960s and 1970s and would automatically need doors, windows and electricity replaced. They are now included in a void return. That is not very transparent or fair. It is definitely not my understanding of how we defined a void. We need a debate on that issue.

I believe choice-based allocation and data is available in every county. Do we have any data to show how that is working out compared with the previous scheme. The repair and lease scheme is disappointing from everybody's point of view, including the Minister's, given that there are only eight or nine successful starts on it. What tweaks is he proposing in respect of the scheme? Can he update us on that?

Can the Minister give me more detail on urban renewal and the €50 million he is making available? The town and village scheme exists. Where is this aimed at? Is it aimed at different populations? The Minister is also asking the local authorities to match that €50 million with another €50 million. I have been discussing local authority finance here for a long time. There has been a lot of debate at previous meetings about the base lines of local authorities. Where will they get the €50 million to match the Minister's €50 million? I do not believe it is there. It is unfair to ask local authorities for that sum. If the Minister is using the excess over and above the baseline figure to extract that €50 million, it will apply only to the local authorities that have a surplus available. Could the Minister clarify that further? We equally have some concern about the change of use of commercial properties. Deputy Cowen emailed the Minister about that last night.

I know the housing delivery cost unit has been completed, according to the report here. When will this committee get a copy of that report?

I have raised the housing inspections and the targeted 25% by 2021 before now. Given the way society is going, we need to try to achieve 100% inspection before any tenant moves in. We need to revisit this to see how we can achieve that. Before we put a tenant into a house, it needs that inspection and a target of 25% is not good enough.

At the end of June or July last year, there was to be a review of rental pressure zones but we have not received any information back on those, how they are working out or what changes the Minister is making to them. Constituents have told me that areas outside rent pressure zones are coming under enormous pressure and experiencing severe rental increases.