Dáil debates

Thursday, 1 December 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Housing Schemes

9:44 am

Photo of Malcolm NoonanMalcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy O'Dowd. The vacant property tax is the responsibility of the Department of Finance and it is kept under review. I take note of the points the Deputy made.

The Housing Agency is overseeing CPOs. It is down to individual local authorities to be proactive. Some, as I said, are better than others. It is critically important there is a uniform approach to it. Local authorities can compare their own actions. There is the network of local authorities, through County and City Management Association, CCMA, and the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, meets with them regularly. It is important they themselves are able to compare some of the measures they are taking and that they try to replicate best practice.

Similarly, with the vacant homes officers, there should be a network of those officers and they should be meeting regularly to report back to the Department on the actions they are taking. Often, it is complex and difficult to work with property owners. One literally has to go through each property forensically and work with the property owners to try to reactivate those properties. It is a tricky task but it can be done. There have been good experiences in my local authority where they have been proactive, have gone after and have worked with the property owners to unlock the potential in the properties. It is frustrating to see the level of vacant properties around the country given the housing demand.

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