Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. We need to revisit this. The reason I say that is that anyone who walks through any of our towns with a population of over 10,000 will see substantial buildings in a state of dereliction, disrepair and vacancy. In Mayo, two towns, Castlebar, where the Minister of State is from, and Ballina are examples of that. There is a housing crisis in the towns with a population of over 10,000. Even in rural areas, there are challenges across the board. We need to use every measure and instrument to move the dial on the housing crisis. This is one small measure and it needs to be revisited. I look forward to pursuing this further with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, because it has real merit.

While it might not be financially viable in the larger cities - the living city initiative might not have had the uptake that was hoped - there are lower real estate values in towns with a population of over 10,000 and market towns generally. It might just be the perfect match. I will continue to pursue this issue.I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, for his time this morning. We need to reconsider this proposal and broaden it to cover towns with populations of over 10,000.