Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is the problem; the Housing for All plan does not actually deal with the urgency of the crisis that we have. In June 2017, my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, called on the Minister to introduce a vacant home tax. Time went on and on and house prices became unaffordable. Rents are going through the roof and families are pressed in terms of their housing needs, and more time went on. What is the Minister planning? The reality is, and it has to be called out, that more time will go on.

The Department of Finance gave the housing committee a plan last week that stated the data will be collected and analysed in quarter 2 of 2022. What is the reason for the delay? Will the Minister make a commitment, as it was not provided in the report given by the Department to the housing committee, to a vacant property tax or is it something he is still considering? Will he commit to that? The situation is contained in the Department's report. Some 92,000 houses, 4.5% of homes, lay vacant in June of this year according to statistics from the GeoDirectory given to the housing committee by the Minister's Department. That is a national scandal on his watch. Time will go on. House prices will go through the roof. Rents are still going up. Meanwhile, more time will go on.

See this speech in context