Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)

I thank those who brought forward this motion, which is incredibly timely and important. It is one that resonates across society in Ireland. It is especially timely coming on the same day as the Raise the Roof protest, which is taking place outside the building this evening. People are once again calling on the Government to finally treat the housing crisis with the urgency it demands. I had the pleasure of stepping outside and engaging with the crowd. The energy was contagious. It was incredible to see so many people there with such a common purpose.

While there are so many dimensions to this crisis that have been discussed by my party colleagues and others across the Chamber, I want to focus on the widespread dereliction we have allowed to take hold in our towns and cities. In the heart of my constituency of Dublin Central, thousands of properties lie empty or in ruin. It is a staggering waste of existing infrastructure in the midst of a housing emergency, which has already had catastrophic consequences for families, most notably for children growing up in emergency accommodation with all of the impacts on their lives that are documented at this point.

Every day I see boarded up shopfronts, crumbling upper floors braced with steel, properties in prime locations that have been left to rot for decades, not due to fire or natural disasters, but because our current system tolerates, even enables, this decay. When public bodies allow buildings to lie derelict for decades, we are witnessing urban abandonment. Dereliction is far from harmless; it corrodes community life and leaves Dublin and our towns the length and breadth of this country looking unloved, feeling unsafe after dark, and very clearly underutilised.

This motion puts forward decisive actions. We are often asked for ideas from this side of the House and this motion contains any number of them, as have previous motions throughout the years. The motion contains: a dereliction tax and stronger levy enforcement to incentivise reuse and redevelopment, a bold use of compulsory purchase orders wielded swiftly to bring empty properties back into the housing market and a commitment to substantial public investment in social and affordable homes, not more excuses or half-measures.

Families are struggling, essential workers are being forced out and young people are being saddled with emigration. There is no merit in letting buildings crumble while homes are desperately needed. There has been a complete lack of political will or even indifference from successive governments when it comes to housing. A vacant property tax exists but it has no teeth. I understand when I say there is no political will, others might say that is not true. What else do we call it when the results are clearly in front of our eyes? Dereliction should not be tolerated in any community, especially when so many are suffering. To allow it is a dereliction of duty. We call on the Government to agree to a vigorous enforcement of vacancy and dereliction levies, swift deployment of compulsory purchase orders and meaningful State-led investment to convert derelict properties into secure affordable homes. This motion puts forward emergency actions in the hope that finally some form of action will be taken. That is all we ask; that action is taken. I do not care who solves this crisis, I just want it solved. It requires urgency, investment, innovation and a general desire to improve our towns, cities and villages for the people who live there.

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