Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the dying days of Tralee Town Council, there was a focus on housing for the elderly. A scheme was enacted in respect of land at the rear of an old convent in the centre of town that was gifted by the Sisters of Mercy. The development there is called Tobar Naofa. I visited the area last week. There are 56 housing units constructed to the highest specifications, with their own heating system, which also covers some other houses in the area. It has come to my attention that ten of those 56 houses are vacant.

Until 2014, there was a housing officer designated for the town of Tralee. Now, it is not the case that each municipal district looks after its own housing stock and emergency accommodation and homeless; rather, it is the done for the whole county. Back in 2014, however, there was a particular focus. Since then, when we are have sought housing, particularly for people who are single, separated, elderly, we have been told there is a massive shortage because the Government basically stopped the construction of social housing and there was no focus on it. The reliance on the market meant there were many three-bedroom semi-detached houses but no one-bedroom or two-bedroom houses. This is a most pressing need but ten of the houses to which I refer are currently vacant.

Kerry County Council states that none of those houses or apartments have been vacant for longer than ten months but that is not the case. I can provide details in that regard. I have looked into it and the same thing can be seen throughout the county. I am aware of a house in Killarney that was sold back to the council under a particular scheme three and a half years ago. There are weeds growing up through the garden of that house in Ballyspillane. There are other houses in Ballyspillane that the council owns but they have not been maintained because the funding stream is not there. The freedom the old town councils had is no longer there. It seems that everything has to be channelled through a particular funding stream or else it cannot be done.

Since I looked into the position regarding Tobar Naofa, it has come to my attention that the residents of three or four of the houses there are in long-term care. It was interesting to hear Deputy Murnane O'Connor speaking about the fair deal scheme. There are three or four other apartments the residents of which are participants on the fair deal scheme. It is a sensitive issue but apparently the resident of one of those houses has been in a nursing home for three years under the fair deal scheme. I am not sure what kind of management of the housing stock in the county is going on, but surely, given the sensitivities, a meeting must be held.

In effect, almost 25% of the 56 houses in question are vacant. These are one-bedroom and two-bedroom top-specification houses for the elderly. They are not like some older houses that were built in the 1970s or 1980s that might need to have windows and doors replaced. All they need is to be painted and for the electrics to be checked. They should be turned around within weeks rather than months but that is not happening. Who or what is managing the situation?

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