Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an deis chun labhairt ar an topaic fíorthábhachtach anseo anocht.

I commend my constituency colleague, Deputy Cowen, on bringing forward a Bill on this very important issue. I am happy to say my party will support the Bill's passage to Committee Stage and will table some amendments.

It comes as no surprise to me that this Bill was brought forward by a public representative from my home county, Offaly, where the growing number of vacant buildings is of great concern to many people. Time and again, I have raised the need to address the issue of vacant buildings. Edenderry, a town with untapped potential, has one of the highest numbers of vacant commercial buildings in this State. That is unacceptable. The town is being held back by the lack of political will and action.

Tullamore and Birr have commercial vacancy rates of 16% and 15%, respectively. Towns and villages across rural Ireland are losing vital services. Some are dying on their feet. These towns need a population to thrive, to retain services and to become vibrant and bustling. One way to do this is to encourage people back into towns, living on the main street over local shops. Approximately 2,500 people are still languishing on the social housing waiting list in Offaly while 3,000 buildings in the county are vacant. There is no reason for that to be the case. Urgent action needs to be taken on this. It cannot continue. It needs to be tackled with action, not words, or promises.

The action plan on rural development states that current planning legislation would be reviewed in order to allow the use of vacant commercial units as residential units. Little or no action has been taken to implement this relatively simple and cost-effective proposal. It is another example of this Government paying lipservice to the important issues affecting people but doing very little to address them. The Government's delay on this issue is inexcusable and unacceptable. It is letting people down and is holding back investment in our towns. I hope the Government will support this Bill going to Committee Stage so there can be progress on this matter and it can be addressed once and for all to the good of our communities.

See this speech in context