Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I was with him on Sherkin Island the day before he was appointed. He was very much involved in this space before he became a Minister. He has knowledge of this issue, his heart is in it and he understands it. He gave a wonderful presentation this afternoon which explained all 18 schemes in which his Department is active.

I will focus on two. The town and village renewal scheme is one of the most important and has been rolled out since 2016. It represents major funding, at €53 million, which has been driven into the heart of local government structures. It re-energises villages and towns in rural Ireland. I believe we can do even more with the scheme. The biggest problem in rural Ireland is the derelict houses in villages and towns but the powers to deal with this are not being used. The powers to which I refer lie within the local authority structures. In the 1970s, the town council in Kinsale made 27 houses subject to a CPO and changed the outlook of the town, which thrives today. Cork City Council did the same in the 1990s under Joe Gavin, . A strategy is needed to ensure local authorities use the unique powers they have, which at the moment they are slow to use. We should create a scheme to ensure we get movement in these villages and towns. In Innishannon, there are 14 derelict houses in what is a small village. We could create great benefits for our housing stock, for society and for Ireland Inc. so I implore the Minister of State to engage with local authorities and convince then to use the powers they have. The county managers are reluctant to use the powers, though a few have done so. The powers could be used in cities like Dublin. I travel through Dublin and ask myself how we can allow so many houses to sit there derelict. We need to put pressure on local authority management to move on this.