Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I must declare an interest if my brother has an interest because of the fact we are brothers, even though I only have my own bit. The cost of rent is exorbitant in Kerry as well, in places like Killarney, Tralee and Dingle. It is also hard to find places to rent because there is no availability. While I, like everyone else, welcome the Ukrainian people here, we need to be inventive about where we can house them because we certainly cannot lose. There are people on Kerry who have been on the list, like youngsters I know, for 15 or 16 years and still have not got a house. We need to be more inventive. There are places like St. Finan's Hospital. There are vacant houses around. The Minister of State should delegate the local authority to send out people to investigate why houses are empty or if there could be a deal done with them. Some people are coming forward but they do not know who to come forward to.

There is no direct line they can contact. Already, our hotels and guesthouses are full. It will jeopardise our tourism product. We cannot ask our people on the housing list to wait any longer.

Landlords are selling up and getting out of the business because they are paying 52% tax. The number of voids, according to Kerry County Council, is at an unacceptable level. The local authority states the tenant purchase scheme used to generate money for the local authority to do up houses, but tenants cannot purchase houses until they are tenants for more than ten years. That is unacceptable.

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