John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The single largest landlord in the State is the Government. The least accountable landlord in the State is the Government. The worst offender in terms of ignoring its responsibilities to its tenants is the Government. Tens of thousands of tenants live in substandard and badly maintained accommodation across the State. In Wicklow, I deal with families and children weekly who are in damp, black mould-infested houses. These children are regularly on antibiotics or steroids, often developing severe respiratory problems. This is not the fault of the local authorities. The responsibility lies squarely with the Government because the Government is not releasing sufficient funds to allow councils to carry out the badly needed maintenance and repairs.

If that is not bad enough, there are several thousand vacant and boarded-up council houses across the State. In my constituency of Wicklow, there are over 140 vacant and boarded-up homes, some of which have been boarded up for two to three years. To have one house boarded up in a housing crisis is a disgrace but to have 140 houses in Wicklow boarded up and vacant is a national scandal. The Government will not release the funds that would allow councils such as Wicklow to do the pre-letting works needed. That is despite repeated requests from the council to the Government. Councils do not have sufficient funds to do this themselves, nor do they possess the skilled workforce to carry out the work, as they did in the past, due to recruitment embargoes and austerity measures. They are now reliant on private contractors, which serves to push up the cost of the works.

The funding needs to be released, the houses need to be fit for purpose and the scheduled maintenance must be allowed to happen. There can be no boarded-up houses in the State, whether private or owned by the State in the trust of the local authorities. That is a scandal. We have people on lengthy waiting lists, sleeping in cars and in overcrowded box rooms in houses the length and breadth of the State. The Minister of State needs to release the funding to ensure work is carried out on these substandard properties and to ensure there are no boarded-up houses in the State.

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