Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

The collapse of the houses at the canal yesterday encapsulates the scandal of dereliction and vacancy in this country. There are 160,000 vacant properties, 50,000 of which have been vacant for six years or more. Despite the immense housing crisis and the fact that over 15,000 people are living in emergency accommodation right now, the Government has done very little to address this.

These homes were owned by the Construction Industry Federation, the lobbyists for the builders in this country. They were left empty, left to become increasingly derelict over time, until such a point that they collapsed yesterday. They were put on the derelict sites register only in June 2023 but it does not appear that anything else has happened with them since then.

Does the Taoiseach agree the councils should be compulsorily purchasing properties that are left vacant for long periods of time? Do not allow these to sit vacant during a housing crisis. Bring them into public ownership and use them to provide housing to the very many people who need it.

See this speech in context