Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

With more than 2 million houses and apartments in the State, and almost 200,000 lying empty, according to the Simon Communities in Ireland, it is about time that the Government took the housing crisis seriously. I live in County Louth, the smallest county in Ireland. Our local authority has more than 60 unoccupied houses. These include voids, where the people who once lived there have passed away, others which have been subject to compulsory purchase order, or houses which are vacant for other reasons. The local authority is crying out for help. There are thousands on the waiting list. There is also a great deal of land in Louth. For some unknown reason, however, the Government has stopped our local authority from building houses. We have the land. All we need is a bit of funding.

Is there any chance that the Government could use Louth, the smallest county in Ireland, in a pilot scheme to get 60 families off the waiting list and build these houses directly? The Government keeps talking about billions of euro, but it would not cost big money to get this sorted out. I saw three houses yesterday in Dundalk. It would only take a little paint work and other works to get this done. If the council boards up these houses, it will cost tens of thousands of euro. Let us sort out the problem.

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