Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Dublin City Council has 362 vacant homes that residents urgently need to be returned to the available housing stock. Of the approximately €50,000 needed to fully refurbish a council home, central government is funding only about 20%. Has the Minister heard of index-linked funding? Is this a deliberate decision of neglect?

The voids return programme must be revoked in order to provide a quicker turnaround for bringing social housing stock into use and an appropriate budget must be calculated to make this happen. The lack of appropriate funding can lead to inadequate repairs or the construction equivalent of trying to put a plaster on a bleeding head wound. One constituent in Inchicore, Dublin 8, was allocated her home in March. It had been void for more than a year. She has had nothing but trouble with the boiler, the heating and the water supply. The property requires additional remedial works and might possibly require a completely new heating system. There have been delays that lead to deterioration, the broken windows syndrome, or the nail that lost the horse.

Budgeting for voids maintenance needs to be realistic rather than aspirational. The Government is causing councils and, in some cases, tenants to pay for serious repairs in order to keep their homes livable and safe. Deputy Gould has done the maths. He is giving the Minister a quick win here. If I were him, I would take it.

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