Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)

We are in a housing crisis. Over 2,700 vacant council properties are boarded up and lying vacant across the State. Of those, more than 800 have been vacant for over a year. It is estimated that Dublin alone accounts for 27% of such vacant properties. Dublin has a growing senior population and along with it an increase in the demand for senior citizen accommodation.

There are a number of senior citizen complexes in my constituency of Dublin North-West. I often take the time to visit these complexes to meet with residents and talk about their concerns. What strikes me most when I visit is the number of units that are lying idle. Many of these units are not necessarily boarded up, but they are lying idle and empty. I know there is a demand for such accommodation because I regularly get requests for help from people who wish to move into it through my constituency office in Finglas. Some of these units have been idle for two years or more. The reason there are a number of such vacant units is that refurbishment work on senior citizen accommodation was the responsibility of direct labour within the council, not private contractors, but this has changed in recent times. The council has cut back on the use of direct labour and is now relying more and more on private contractors. This has increased costs for the council, which means that not as many units can be refitted and refurbished as before. This has created a logjam in delivering such units, which would be delivered much quicker if direct labour were used instead of private contractors.

In a housing crisis, vacant council properties need to be turned around as fast as possible. With almost 60,000 people on the housing list throughout the country, not including 85,000 on HAP, RAS and rent supplement, every vacant property needs to be made available as a matter of urgency.

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