Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 December 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Rebuilding Ireland: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

9:30 am

Photo of Victor BoyhanVictor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the commitment he has given to publish the criteria for the affordable housing scheme next week. That is long overdue. Anyone watching these proceedings or familiar with the previous meetings of the committee will be conscious that addressing homelessness is one of our key objectives, along with the acceleration of social housing, building more homes, improving the rental sector and utilising existing housing.

Point 5.16 in the report circulated to the committee by the Minister discusses a pilot scheme of six local authorities. It states that the scheme has been completed, but according to the Department commentary it has not. Rather, the Department is awaiting a pilot scheme of six local authorities. I ask the Minister to provide further detail on the pilot scheme. There are many local authorities. The objective was to ensure that an action plan for vacant homes would be put in place across all local authorities. I acknowledge that the Minister does not have time to go into the matter today, but I ask that he provide further detail on the pilot scheme to the committee in the coming days.

The committee has repeatedly requested that all circulars issued by the Department be forwarded to us. As I understand it, correspondence again issued to the Minister last week or the week before in that regard. The more we are informed of what is going on, the better placed we are to deal with it. There is an information deficit. We have requested on two or three occasions that the Department provide us with the circulars. I ask the Minister, as head of the Department, to ensure the Department formally responds to that correspondence, if it has not already done so, and to give a commitment that the circulars will be forwarded to us.

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