Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue and I would like to thank the Social Democrats for bringing this timely motion before the Dáil. It is safe to say that the housing crisis is just going from bad to worse. Homelessness is at an all-time high, evictions are increasing across the State and the Government has missed its housing targets time and again. Against that backdrop there are vacant homes dotted around the country. According to the latest census data, in my county of Kildare there are nearly 5,000 vacant properties.

The Minister came in a few minutes ago and mentioned the census form. He spoke about holiday homes and the homes of people who are in nursing homes or whatever. The census form has a box-ticking exercise that provides the proper information and the Minister knows that. These vacant properties could be turned into badly needed homes for people who have been evicted and have nowhere to go. Sinn Féin believes in and fully supports a vacant property tax to stop vacant home hoarding. Hoarding vacant homes during a housing crisis is like hoarding food during a famine. The tax should be punitive and increased annually. It should not be seen as a revenue raising measure but as a tool to push property owners into selling or renting their properties. Tackling the scourge of vacancy and dereliction is good for our towns, villages and cities. The Government must do more to stop greed and speculation on the housing market and when we are in the middle of the worst housing crisis in the history of this State.

Yesterday, the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, rejected Sinn Féin's motion to provide increased investment in the delivery of affordable homes and again today the Government has opted to reject an Opposition motion that would increase the supply of homes. I call on the Minister and this Government to heed the Opposition's solutions to the housing crisis. It beggars belief that we are giving the Government the solutions with the mess it has created but the Government has decided to continue down this cruel path and no one will thank it for that.

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