Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

That we are having statements on housing is another example of the fact that we are not functioning properly as a Legislature. The very fact we are having statements instead of pushing through legislation is basically a Dáil trying to look busy instead of doing the work it is meant to do. It is a disgrace that, week after week, we have statements on this, that and the other. It is showing the Government up for its inability to let this Parliament function.

I wish to raise the issue of the number of houses that are derelict around the country. There are 160,000 derelict houses. That is an incredible number of homes that are empty in the middle of a housing crisis. Having empty homes in the middle of a housing crisis is akin to exporting food in the middle of a famine. It is a disgrace. It is low-hanging fruit in terms of getting people back into their homes. It usually involves the lowest amount of money to make a building habitable. It is also best for the environment because it has less of an environmental impact, as there is less concrete, blocks, transport and so on used. Many towns and villages in this country are festooned with derelict buildings. If one travels through most provincial towns, even on the main street, one will see that approximately 20% to 25% of those buildings are derelict. Getting those homes back into use enlivens and gets families back into the towns and creates an energy there that is so badly needed.

In September 2022, the Government created a grant for homes that were empty, namely, the vacant homes grant. At the time, the Government made it so difficult to apply that one practically had to be homeless and have a derelict home to get it.

Last year, we found out that there were 11,000 applications for that particular grant. Only 1,449 have actually resulted in a payout of that grant. Some 13% of the applicants of that grant have received it in the full of last year, which is an incredibly low figure. If the Government proceeds at this pace, it will take it 160 years to achieve getting those homes back into use.

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