Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In dealing with the housing issue one of the factors that has not been dealt with is the number of vacant houses. I was in an area in recent days where I was told by residents that a three bedroom semi-detached house has been vacant for seven years. The owner owns of a number of other properties and it is now not profitable for that person to let the house. I do not understand the reason for that but that person is not paying any additional tax by leaving the house vacant. At the same time, he or she is not losing any money because the value continues to increase. The issue of how we deal with vacant properties needs to be examined. Some properties are vacant for genuine reasons - people may be in nursing homes or whatever - but in respect of a large number of them, people are waiting for property prices to rise.

Allowing companies to come in and buy large lots of apartments needs to change. That policy needs to be examined because at the time of the change of Government in 2011 personal borrowing amounted to more than €200 billion. That figure is now down to €150 billion. In fact, the amount of personal savings exceeds the amount of personal borrowing. There is no excuse for allowing large companies to have a free-for-all in respect of acquiring properties because they can outbid everyone else. That should be looked at with a view to a change in the regulation and in the legislation.

I keep making the point that there is a cohort of people who do not qualify for local authority loans or to borrow from banks and who will continue to have to rent. They need security of tenure and the only way of doing that is to create a system of 20-year leases, with a five-year rent review and the tenants being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the apartment or the house. We need to move on that and it is something we should examine.

I welcome the decision by Clúid and Cork City Council to buy 75 completed apartments in the past week.It is a welcome development on Bachelor's Quay in Cork city. It was a good decision by Clúid Housing, Cork City Council, and the Minister and the Department to provide the funding for that project to go ahead, and I hope that all the properties will be occupied within the next three months. It would be welcome to have a debate to deal with a number of issues that have been raised in a constructive manner rather than engaging in the blame game that often takes place in the House.