Mr. Brian Rushe:

I thank members for the invitation this evening. As stated, I am joined by Ms Alice Doyle, our farm family and social affairs chair and Ms Claire McGlynn, our policy executive in charge of that committee. To summarise our statement, during a time of such high housing need, revitalising derelict and vacant houses on farmland is a much-needed operation and it makes absolute sense. We need to ensure that houses that already exist are being fully used and a specific pathway is determined to tackle the blight of vacancy and dereliction which is a feature now of many villages and communities in rural Ireland. Compact development and rural regeneration are all key elements of how we make places better places to live.

The IFA sees the vacant property refurbishment grant as a step in the right direction. It can also be used to renovate properties that have not been used as residential properties before making it very relevant for farmland and farmyards. This is a major step in helping people utilise the existing stock that is already available to them. The refurbishment of these one-off vacant and derelict houses on farms can give family members an opportunity to live within their community. Allowing rental of these properties also gives an opportunity to revitalise rural populations that may be currently in a decline.

A further initiative here could see the possibility of these buildings being refurbished as accommodation for people wishing to work on farms which, as members know, will address some of the labour issues we are now seeing on farms, particularly in the past six to 12 months. There are barriers to smaller-scale existing refurbishment projects such as the uncertainty, costs and delays associated with having to obtain statutory permissions.

There is also the lack of skilled labour available to take on the work of refurbishments on these vacant and derelict homes. Revitalising vacant and derelict homes on farmland has the potential to create support for future generations of farmers, aiding farm succession and keeping farming communities alive. There must always be an option available to those who come from farms to live on the farm, be it in reuse of old buildings or new builds. Not only will this help to ease the housing pressures in the short term but will also help to secure the viability and vibrancy of the local communities, supporting schools, villages, soccer clubs and GAA clubs. We all know there are issues around that. The Chair travels the length and breadth of this country and one only needs to go into a farmyard to see potential. Supporting those farmers and their families to revitalise and renovate those buildings makes absolute sense given the current state of housing in this country. There is no drawback here. The key is to remove any friction in the system that is delaying works.