Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I am glad to note there is some activity. I would be interested in getting more information on the 61 vacant properties the Minister mentioned. I agree the majority of empty houses are privately owned. There are not many long-term voids in the council housing stock. However, I could point to 61 such properties in my town alone, which is only a small part of the county. I do not know where from where the council got that figure. Equally, I could point to 61 houses that have been long-term empty. I am not sure how those figures are being calculated. There is no substitute for going door to door, as we have the joy of doing during an election campaign. In that way one could quickly establish there are many empty houses and one could get to the bottom of this. I do not want to be disrespectful about the information provided but I cannot accept there are only 61 private houses vacant in Mayo.