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

I appreciate that the Minister is talking sense and calling them empty homes, not voids. It is nice to hear a person telling the truth as it is. I stand over the statement, because it is a fact, that if a house received funding since 2014, it cannot receive funding a second time. I would like the Minister to examine the empty house scheme and ask that local authorities are adequately resourced.

In the brief time remaining to me, I will speak about our local authority, Kerry County Council. I appreciate its workers, whether it is the CEO, Moira Murrell, director of housing, Martin O'Donoghue, or all of the clerks of work out on the ground today as we speak maintaining and looking at property and seeing what they can do to help people on the housing lists. I thank all of the investigating officers, all of the ladies and men working in the offices of Kerry County Council's housing department for their work. I ask the Minister to ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Taoiseach and the Government to adequately resource those excellent people so they can carry on with their excellent work. I thank him for that.

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