Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed with both responses. Given the amount collected from the levy, Mayo and Longford are not the only local authorities where that applies. I will be monitoring all the local authorities to see how many sites are on the derelict sites register and how much is collected from the levy. This is national legislation that was passed 32 years ago. In the middle of a housing crisis we cannot accept this. I encourage both councils to do their best to put a team in place. This will be a win for the local authorities but in particular for people in housing. There are thousands of people in the Mayo and Longford local authority areas who are crying out for housing and we have properties rotting. I know the witnesses are doing very important work and I appreciate that. This is the main area I encourage them to look at.