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

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak. As the Taoiseach knows, I travel nearly every road in Kerry on a consistent basis. One of the roads I travel very often is the road from Kenmare, through Kilgarvan, down to Clonkeen then Flesk and into Killarney. Without going along the road, I can count in my head that there are 55 vacant houses from the top of the town in Kenmare down to the Kerry Way in the Curraglass townland. That is hardly going up or down any of the byroads off that - a short walking distance maybe. There is a certain amount of public transport on this road.

Why are these houses vacant? Can we do anything? We must explore every avenue we can when we hear about the housing crisis and people ending up without a home. Surely we should be doing more to entice the owners of these houses into the rental market. We certainly know that the tax at 52% or 56% is keeping many of them out of that market.

Owners in this area will not command large rents. They will only get €600 or €700 a month. After paying tax, they only have €300 to pay the bills.

Confidence is gone in the private rental market and people are afraid that they will lose their houses and be unable to get them back when they want them. They have the right to get their houses back. Will the Government do something to relax the rules of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, which are too stringent and restrictive and prevent people from entering the market?

Will the Government also do something for those who are without a home, cannot find a house to rent and are not on the housing list? We must help people who are on the housing list, but those who are not on it need a house as much as everyone else. They cannot afford to buy but are just above the threshold to join the housing list. Could we involve local authorities in renting houses? Perhaps they could succeed. People are afraid they will not get their houses back if they go private.

The Government was able to offer €800 tax free to house owners who accommodated Ukrainians. Why can we not offer the same sum to accommodate our own people? Surely our own people are first and foremost. The Ukrainians are not to blame for the misfortune that has befallen them, but our people must be looked after. This is one of the areas I am asking the Government to explore.

See this speech in context