Derelict homes for housing
Deputy McNamara suggested derelict homes could help with housing shortages, especially for Ukrainians after summer, and asked for clarity on bringing such properties back into use. The Tánaiste said work is already under way through CPOs, repair-and-lease schemes, grants for derelict homes and a possible tax on vacant properties.
The Tánaiste explained earlier that bringing supply on board with regard to housing is the only long-term solution, but that will take a lot of time. Ukrainians will be housed in student accommodation during the summer but where will they go come late September or October? One of the available housing resources is the number of derelict houses throughout the country, not just in towns and villages but one-off houses in rural Ireland, where people might have abandoned an old house and built a new house or bungalow beside it. There is a lack of clarity about doing those old houses up, from a planning perspective. There is also a cost to that but it is far cheaper than bringing new houses on board. Many Members have an interest in this issue, including Deputy Griffin, who is seated behind the Tánaiste. Has the Government any plans for a campaign to bring derelict houses throughout the country back into use to house people?
Comment on this
As the Deputy will be aware, a lot of work is already being done to bring derelict houses back into use. In some parts of the country, local authorities are placing buildings under compulsory purchase orders and bringing them back into use. Louth is a good example of that. There is also the repair and lease scheme, which people can use-----
Comment on this
-----to bring a house back into use and then lease it, but we need to do more. The kind of things we are working on at present include a general grant people will get if they buy a derelict house, bring it back into use and live in it, which is the carrot. A proposal being worked out, which would be the stick, is a tax on vacant residential properties.
Comment on this
Vacant is one thing, derelict is another.