Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

That is a significant change. My question referred to vacant properties leased from developers and private entities, not local authorities. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State broke down the figures in this regard. Behind my supplementary question is a belief that a serious examination needs to be carried out of the merits of this initiative. I have written to the Comptroller and Auditor General asking him to undertake this examination and hope the figures provided for that office will not be skewed by the affordable home scheme figures I received this afternoon. In recent weeks we have witnessed a significant drop in rents in the open market. Given the direction to local authorities in this matter that they should a figure of 20% below the current rent payable with regard to when leases were acquired, have further leases been taken out, given that rents are falling further? Are local authorities tied into lease agreements in excess of current rental figures? Is there a break out clause whereby rents can be reviewed downwards? What is the minimum period at which those break out clauses are set?

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