Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I am happy to support this Bill today. I am disappointed it is not going any further for another 18 months. Implementing a Bill like this would be a necessary and long overdue intervention in the fight against the decay and neglect that is eating away at the heart of our towns and villages. Throughout the country more than 100,000 homes lie vacant or derelict while families queue for housing and young people are forced to emigrate. In Dublin city alone more than 14,500 properties are vacant. One fifth of these properties are left empty for more than four years. That is not just bad policy, it is a moral failure. The Bill gives local authorities the teeth they need to act. It defines dereliction more clearly, it strengthens enforcement and introduces the town centre first process to make it easier to bring disused buildings, especially above shops, back into residential use. It is great to see this Bill emphasise over-the-shop accommodation. We in Aontú have stressed the need to ease planning regulations for these properties to allow for empty commercial units to be used as accommodation.

The Government's vacant property refurbishment grant has been painfully slow and often inaccessible. While in excess of 7,700 applications were submitted, fewer than 1,500 grants were actually paid out. Funding needs to be granted incrementally as many people cannot afford to pay for the works up front. With a bit of imagination, these grants could be a good bit better and a sustainable way for people to get on the property ladder.