Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I enjoyed this debate on an area for which I am spokesperson. It was certainly thought provoking. However, the sad reality is that there are tens of thousands of people on waiting lists. The Minister of State should also acknowledge that there are thousands of people in my age group, in their early thirties, who still live at home. Parents who have done their best to rear them and get rid of them, are stuck with them. It is causing a major problem. I understand there is now a helpline for parents who are totally frustrated that their 30 year old son or daughter is showing no sign of moving on and is quite happy to stay at home. I was thrown out of my own nest a few years go, which is probably just as well. This is obviously a serious issue.

It surprised everybody to see reports in the newspapers that some local authorities are not spending the moneys allocated to them. To borrow a phrase from Senator Leyden, they should be named and shamed. In Carlow we are waiting for a housing scheme in Fruithill that I thought would have been built by now. It is a mixture of social, affordable and local authority housing. Unfortunately for us, the land in question is just inside County Laois which means that Carlow Town Council must deal with Laois County Council. Dealing with the planning authorities is a disaster because a different authority is dealing with the application.

It would be beneficial if the Minister of State could state clearly which authorities allocated money did not spend it and give the reasons. I am sure every councillor in the country is currently attending meetings of town councils and county councils asking why housing is not being provided in their area. They are being told to blame the Department. If, as it appears from what the Minister of State said, the problem is not with the Department, that information should be made available to councillors and public representatives. People are waiting for years for housing. The sad reality in Carlow is that many people involved in the co-operative movement have left and moved on because they are so frustrated at the length of time it is taking to get a house. That is a sad reflection on all of us.

Something I have always been puzzled by is the concept of empty stock. I often wonder how much housing stock is fully occupied and whether occupancy could be increased. Perhaps there is scope in a future census to obtain such figures. In Carlow we are beginning to see the appearance of empty stock where houses cannot be rented out and are lying idle for months. Perhaps the Minister might examine this in the context of a census. I would like to know the real figures. As the Minister correctly points out, while we have never built so many units before, there is still a major problem. It could be that private investors are buying a second, third, fourth or fifth property, and that could be distorting the figures. While Fine Gael welcomes the Bill, much work remains to be done in this area.