Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Vacancy and dereliction are serious issues in rural Ireland. There is significant dereliction in every small town. Houses are lying empty and shops, pubs and other business premises in once-thriving communities are dying on their feet because of the changes in how people conduct their commerce. They now shop in big towns and so on. We have a huge problem with that in the private sector and a carrot-and-stick approach is needed to resolve it. The problem for a lot of the people who own these properties is that they are not really assets but liabilities, often inherited, and they do not know what to do with them. Something needs to be done to assist people with that particular problem. The other side of it is that there are people who sit on properties and do not, or will not, develop them. That is also an enormous problem. We must try to get the balance right. We need to do something that will provide housing for people and, in doing so, we will also provide work. We need to get all of this right. Of course, I recognise that some advancements have been made, particularly with the grant aid scheme that is now in place to properly insulate homes, regenerate them and bring them back into use. All of those measures are positive but, unfortunately, people still have to get into debt to do it and that is a big issue for a lot of people who own property.

The other side of this relates to the local authorities.

Throughout my constituency in counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon there are issues with empty local authority houses and properties. The local authorities are taking a long time to bring them back into use in order that people can live in them again. Much of that is down to funding and so on. In the past, local authorities had large teams who would carry out that type of work. When a house became vacant, the local authorities had staff to do the work to bring them back into use, but that no longer happens. Currently, properties are placed on a list and a contractor is employed to do the work, but a contractor will not be called in to refurbish only one house. The local authorities wait until ten or 15 houses become vacant before employing a contractor, which means a house could lie empty for a year or up to two years in some areas. There needs to be a re-examination of that policy. Some might suggest that the old system was wasteful and that it is more efficient to do the work via a contractor, but the length of time houses remain empty dispels that argument. We clearly need to return to a situation where local authorities can employ people directly to do that work. I hope that will be one of the proposals considered in respect of this issue.

The buy and renew scheme, which allows councils to buy old properties and bring them back into use, needs to be rolled out across the board, in particular in our town centres and small urban areas and rural towns. We need to get those types of properties back into use and to get people living in town centres again. That is vital. If the correct funding is put in place for local authorities to do that, it would make a huge difference.

The vacant homes tax is a measure that is required in a lot of areas to try to get properties back into use. People will sit on and do nothing with them, but if they are incentivised to bring them back into use or to move them on or otherwise be hit with a tax bill that would put the pressure on. Everything that can be done to get people homes needs to be done. As we know, thousands of people are coming here from the Ukraine. They are very welcome. People here are trying to accommodate them in their homes and in other houses, some of which are properties that have not been used in the past. There is also a huge problem here with people not being able to afford to buy or rent a home or to find a home in any circumstances. We need to recognise that and ensure that we put every effort into providing houses for our people.

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