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

In County Kerry, which I represent, we have 172 voids, which are empty houses. Why are these not being tackled and put into use? When local authority houses become available, why are they not put back into use within, at the most, a month? Houses like that should be turned around in five to six weeks and new people should be put into them. Deputies in this Dáil attack property owners. I have heard more rubbish in here today from people who are serial objectors themselves. They have objected to thousands of houses being built in their constituencies. We have one lady in this Chamber who has objected to 5,000 houses in the short time she has been a Deputy. It is insanity of the worse type. Why? It is because they are being built by the private sector and maybe somebody will make a profit. My good God, is there anything in the world wrong with a person making a profit? Is there anything in the world wrong with people having a house? It is their property. They might have worked hard for it. If somebody inherits a house, am I seriously being told there is a desire to increase a tax by 33 times to 10% of the valuation of the property? If implemented, this would mean that in the context of the average vacant home, using the average home price example of €320,000, a vacant home tax of €32,000 would end up being paid annually if the Social Democrats got its way. That is insanity of the worst type.

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