Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is always a balance to be struck between incentivising private landlords and being prudent with public money. We must get that balance right.

Deputy Phelan referred to vacant houses. We are working with NAMA to acquire properties that can be used for social housing through that agency. We are making some progress on that now. There were some delays but NAMA has now set up what is called a special purpose vehicle to speed the transfer of properties. That will not solve the entire problem but it will contribute to the solution.

We must continue to use the mechanisms available to us. I hope the time is not too far away when capital budgets can be built up again and we can return to the more traditional method of allocating funding to local authorities to provide directly for the housing needs of citizens. At present, we must prioritise the most needy. They are people with disabilities and people who are elderly or homeless. Those are the public housing priorities at present. We must use these various methods.

Deputy Phelan is describing a real problem which she has experienced in her constituency and which other Deputies have experienced in theirs.

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