David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Has he any idea of how many vacant homes there are per county? Some work has been done in this regard in County Cork. Does the Minister of State agree that having one full-time vacant homes officer in each county is a good thing? For a county the size of Cork, though, does he also agree with its chief executive's recent statement that one full-time officer would be needed per town to make the scheme effective? There is one officer in County Louth, another in County Waterford and one in County Cork, yet County Cork is four, five or six times the size of some other counties. Does the Minister of State agree a county like Cork should have many more vacant homes officers to make this scheme work and have an impact? There are many vacant and derelict homes around the country that need to be used.

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