Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is up to Louth County Council to bring forward a plan, and we are happy to engage on that.

I wish to be clear on vacancies. We have used Louth as the best example of a local authority that has tackled vacancies. The council has gone out on many occasions in recent years under various schemes through which we have allocated money. The council has been successful in bringing forward vacant houses that belonged to the private sector. The council took them over through schemes and brought them back into use. We are encouraging the council to do more of that. We certainly reward counties where that is done and Louth is one that has successfully achieved this.

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