Housing maintenance in apartments
Deputy Ó Laoghaire raised the need to renovate, demolish or replace apartment complexes identified in the Housing Commission report. The Taoiseach said he would ask the housing Minister to respond formally and would look at what could be done in the budget.
I give my best wishes to Eamon Ryan. He is a very courteous man and very willing to engage. I have great respect for anyone who recognises that their first priority is their family. That is an important thing that we would all do well to remember.
One of the last Private Members' debates in the Dáil before the elections was on housing maintenance. Doubtless, this is an issue that the Taoiseach will have come across while canvassing. In my constituency, several apartment complexes were identified in the Housing Commission report as being in need of renovation, demolition or replacement.
They are at Togher Road, Cherry Tree Road, Clashduv Road, Desmond Square and a few other locations. Many of them were built in the 1960s and 1970s and are experiencing serious issues with cold and damp. Is the Taoiseach aware of the Housing Commission's particular recommendation on maisonettes and apartments and will he ensure that the next budget provides adequate funding so that these apartments, many of which are in a very poor condition, are either thoroughly renovated or replaced?
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire. I will. I am aware of that recommendation from the commission and the importance of the issue that the Deputy highlighted. I will certainly ask the Minister for housing to respond to the Deputy formally in respect of it, but I will also see what we can do in the forthcoming budget.