Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The number of vacant properties across the State is staggering. As this motion from the Regional Group of Independents states, there are 90,000 vacant dwellings across the country. Some of this stock of dwellings could, and should, be used to address some of the issues around our housing crisis.

In my home country of Limerick there are 4,000 vacant properties. These range from dwellings to office buildings that are being allowed to fall into disrepair. While we have a vacant site levy, the collection of it is haphazard. In response to a parliamentary question I asked in January, it was confirmed that in Limerick there was almost €1 million outstanding in vacant site levies over a two-year period. It is extremely disappointing these properties are not made available for use. It is astounding that when they are left vacant there is no urgency to collecting the amounts owed. In contrast, if a council tenant ends up in arrears on his or her rent the local council energetically pursues him or her to ensure the owed money is rightly paid.

My office deals daily with people desperate to be housed. They often live in overcrowded, small homes with multiple generations of the family living cheek by jowl. I am also contacted quite frequently by those living adjacent to vacant sites or boarded-up homes. Disuse of these dwellings creates negative conditions for those who live next to them. In my experience, the longer a site is vacant the greater the chance of illegal dumping, vermin infestation and structural damage to the adjacent homes. It is simply not fair to those living next to them. Your home is your refuge and your safe place and something that, in the main, people take great pride in.

In February I joined the derelict site walking tour of Limerick City. It was a cross-party, non-party event where we visited several vacant sites within the city. These sites ranged from former office buildings to vacant houses and apartments. One of the locations we visited was the Watergate Flats complex in the heart of the city centre. This is an apartment complex with 100 units. The locals who live there are angry and frustrated and tell me at least six of these flats are boarded up and vacant and have been idle for a number of years. Many are ready to be let and are sitting empty. Across Limerick there are many other dwellings that could be refurbished and made available, yet they also remain idle.

National house prices are rising by an average of 7% per year. Those who allow sites to lie vacant are profiting while our people are desperate. Those who leave properties vacant must be pursued vigorously to show the levies owed are collected.

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