Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month one of the local papers, The Connaught Tribune, reported there were 7,500 vacant properties across Galway. According to daft.ie there are fewer than 150 properties for rent in Galway today.

The Irish Timesreported this year that almost 45,000 properties in the west, north west and midlands are lying empty, although these figures are frequently disputed. Some say they are too high while others say they are too low. Some say that the GeoDirectory database from which these figures are often drawn is not accurate enough. Why, after more than a decade of a housing crisis, can we not say with certainty what the figure for vacant properties across this State actually is? Why do we not have a property register for vacant and derelict properties? It is absolutely remarkable. I often raise this with the local authorities in my area when trying to find out the exact number of vacant properties but they find it difficult to tell me. We have had successive Governments involving Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael telling us that housing is their number one priority but no effort has been made to gather the data that would actually help us to tackle the problem.

What many people see when they walk through Galway city and towns in the county is vacant and derelict sites and they ask why we do not know how many are actually sitting idle. The reality is that it helps to maintain an artificial scarcity of supply that keeps prices and rents high. If the Minister really wants to solve the housing crisis, he needs to come to terms with vacancy and dereliction. We all know that the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to improve housing supply is to start with vacant and derelict properties. My constituents in Galway are constantly asking me about properties that are sitting idle. They cannot understand why, after more than a decade of a housing crisis, there are still people without homes and homes without people.

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