Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Taoiseach for his report on NESC. He made reference to its important report on compact growth. As we know, development within urban boundaries is a far more sustainable form of development, with access to key infrastructure, services and utilities. It lends itself more to public transport use and active travel use. It is a far more environmental and sustainable form of development. Making better use of our existing buildings has to be a key part of our housing strategy. The Croí Cónaithe vacant homes scheme does a lot of good work in this area, and we are making good progress on vacant buildings. The underutilisation of buildings and partial occupation of buildings is another issue. This so-called over-the-shop or over-the-office usage is something on which we need to do a great deal more work. The programme for Government sets out ambition in this respect but I ask the Taoiseach to prioritise it and bring forward incentives in order that we might better utilise our existing buildings and incentivise the so-called over-the-shop occupation model.

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