Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In principle, we would support the amendment put down by Deputy Ellis. If anything, he has been generous in the timescales he is allowing. I want to ask a very specific question. Is it the case that the Department is currently or was previously operating a scheme whereby local authorities could apply for funding to the Department for a house, provided it was vacant for six months? Was it the case that this scheme encouraged local authorities to leave the houses empty for that period of time in order to avail of funding from the Department, as distinct from having to spend their own resources, if they had any, on particular housing programmes?

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