Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a question for the Taoiseach on the programme for Government in the context of housing lists. The issue is not the fault of our local authority in County Kerry because everybody is aware that Kerry County Council is the finest and hardest working local authority in the State, and that is a fact. Our housing department is second to none, but when local authority houses become available - in other words, when a tenant moves out - there is a long delay in getting those houses turned around. This is due to finance not being made available from central Government to our local authority to do the necessary works to turn the houses around, rent them out again and make them available to the people who are waiting on the housing lists. I ask the Taoiseach to please ensure that when a local authority house becomes available it is turned around, and whatever needs to be done is done to modernised the premises and bring it up to standard, including retrofitting if needed. I ask that this be done quickly so that a family or an individual can go into the house and make it a home again.

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