Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be associated with today's motion by the Regional Group on derelict and vacant properties. I reiterate our thanks to Cáit, our administrator.

On a leisurely walk through any town or city in Ireland one will find many derelict or vacant properties. This is particularly the case in towns and city centres but it is also the position in rural areas. These properties are owned by someone. I fully support the rights of people to own private property. However, we need to incentivise people who own a derelict property or a vacant site to do something beneficial with it, especially when we have a severe shortage of houses and an ever-increasing list of people looking for places to live, and a broken planning policy in the way of their ever becoming homeowners. The motion states that the Dáil recognises that "the overarching goals of housing policy should be affordability, sustainability, equality and social inclusion". Affordability is clearly an issue for many people. First-time buyers are being priced out of the market for various reasons. One of those reasons is the dreadful practice of county councils trying to increase their stock of social housing by competing in the market with first-time buyers. This practice is counterproductive and merely serves to make it more difficult for first-time buyers.

The motion also recognises that "Rebuilding Ireland failed to meet its annual target every year and was 41,000 units below its overall target". Unfortunately, this should really come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the way our planning laws are being applied or the way in which certain officials are implementing their own version of these laws. In some cases, they are inventing rules of their own.

The Office of the Planning Regulator’s role in curtailing and putting barriers in the way of housing development over a number of years must be highlighted. What has happened in this regard must be corrected before the problem gets worse. Every barrier put in the way of a house being built is just another straw to break the back of the struggling first-time buyer. I appeal to the Minister to take his head out of the sand and deal with the issue.

The motion notes that there are more than 90,000 vacant dwellings across the country. Some 22,096 residential addresses have been classified as derelict. Every year up to 4,500 people leave behind empty homes when they enter long-term nursing home care, yet just 400 of these homes are rented out as the fair deal nursing home support scheme charges an older person three separate times if they decide to rent out their home. Government regulation is actively discouraging people from renting out their properties. This is despite the fact that there is a rental crisis as a result of over-regulation and bureaucracy. The bricks and mortar are there in many places.

With those issues and others in mind, we are calling on the Government to do a number of things. We need to provide the resources to regenerate derelict and vacant properties in cities, towns, and village as a major priority action and provide first-time buyer grants of €30,000 for the refurbishment of vacant and derelict properties as homes. Stimulating demand for derelict houses may encourage people to sell run-down properties they own but are not using. This is especially so in light of the current cost of a new build and the difficulties in getting planning permission. The motion also calls for reform of the fair deal nursing home scheme to remove the financial barrier to renting out a property. This would release vacant family homes across our cities, towns, and rural areas for rent. The fair deal nursing home scheme is a godsend to many people who, without it, would struggle to afford appropriate care for their loved ones, but it is not perfect. Thousands of vacant properties lie idle because of the cost and bureaucracy associated with renting out a property under the scheme.

In recent days I read with great disappointment a report about a family having to leave a Gaeltacht area due to difficulty in getting planning permission. This happened on Inis Meáin. If our planning laws are not made less onerous and restrictive, they will contribute to the death of rural Ireland, local parishes, rural GAA clubs and thousands of communities.

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