Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The point is that it is a complex issue, there is no doubt about that. If it was easy it would have been solved years ago. I want to see more people living in the centre of towns. It is about more than buying a house and moving in, many more issues need to be considered so that it is attractive for people. There are significant costs associated with repairing older buildings which are in poor structural condition and often have protected status. Adapting older buildings to modern building standards and requirements can be difficult. Return on investment is a factor as the value of the vacant properties after intervention and repair will often be less than the cost of refurbishment and investors get a greater return on investment on new sites on the edges of towns. Sometimes owners have inherited the property and have limited resources for investing. There are also inexperienced property owners. A range of different issues need to be addressed but the report's findings will inform local authorities across the country. The same issues exist in all the towns.

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