James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I want to ensure there are no children going into homelessness. We have already had a record number of preventions of families and others going into homelessness and record numbers of exits. We want to get to a point where nobody is going into homelessness any more. The tenant in situ scheme is an important part of that, as is homeless HAP, the new social housing stock and turning voids around as quickly as possible. I take the view that as regards voids, which for anyone listening at home are empty council houses that people have handed back, there is no reason they take so long to turn around.

We take different views as to why that is. Mine is that many local authorities spend too long doing work on the properties that is too deep. When a council house becomes empty, it should be turned around as quickly as possible, ensuring that it meets health and safety criteria and that it is nice, clean, repainted and presentable for people, because a new family will be moving in. Some local authorities are doing way too deep retrofitting work on homes that does not need to be done at that point; it should be done as planned work. I want to get the voids turned around as quickly as possible and I will be issuing a circular to local authorities on how to do that because there is a lack of consistency. That will help to prevent people from going into homelessness.