Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the new repair and lease scheme announced as part of the Government's housing package. The scheme has great potential to increase the social housing stock by bringing back into use empty and substandard privately-owned houses. Since we last had the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government before the House, further details of the scheme have been placed in the public domain, including information on two pilot projects in Waterford and Carlow. The scheme must be as flexible as possible and it is important at this point that the Seanad contribute to the debate. The scheme will only apply to leased property or property that a local authority or an approved housing body might lease from a private owner. Many private owners do not want to become landlords. The scheme is not attractive because one has to pay PRSI and there is also the PRTB involved. We have to take this into account and provide that in certain instances local authorities might buy the properties in question.

In my county the most recent census figures show that 24% of the housing stock is empty. As I understand it, that is 24% of 65,000 houses at a time when there are 1,600 people on the housing list. There was a similar figure in 2010. There are a variety of house types, some of which are older houses in older parts of the town, some of which are in unfinished housing estates or established housing estates but which have not been lived in for years. We need to get technicians on the ground. That happened in 2010 when inspectors who had been working for the Department in granting the first-time buyer's grant went on the ground. We need people to knock on doors and establish why these properties are vacant and nobody is earning anything on them. We need to establish where the houses are that are tied with banks and the builder or owner is not in a position to sell. A further significant point is that banks will currently sell to vulture or venture funds, but they are not being mandated to offer to local authorities the suites of houses they possess that would be suitable for social housing. That would be the fastest way to increase the social housing stock of local authorities. I ask that the Minister be invited back to the House in the light of the great potential of the scheme.