Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Carroll MacNeill raises a very good point in relation to insurance. This is an issue that we have been looking at in Cork city for the past ten or 12 years. I discussed with the Minister a number of weeks ago the fact that there are 92,000 vacant homes in this State but we have only three full-time vacant home officers. The Minister of State said that a grant of €50,000 is available to local authorities but that is only a drop in the ocean. There are vacant properties in areas where there is insufficient land available to provide housing for people. I accept that the Minister of State is genuine with regard to this issue. I urge him to speak to the Minister and officials in the Department about the possibility of providing more resources in this area. This is a quick way to get housing onto the market and to provide accommodation for people.

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