I raise the issue of vacant local authority homes, of which there are always thousands across the State. There are 200 of them in Limerick at the moment, and 200 is always the number of vacant houses there. These are local authority homes that, for whatever reason, are not in use. The process of local authorities applying for funding from central government needs to be changed and simplified, so these properties can be turned back into homes more quickly than they have been in the past. It is frustrating for people living next door to a voided home, which can be magnets for antisocial behaviour, litter and dumping. It is not fair when a house is not heated for five, six or seven years and is closed up, meaning the houses on either side have to make up the cost of excess heating. I dealt with a person in emergency accommodation in a hotel in my local area who could see boarded-up, voided homes in the nearby estate from which she came. It is absolute nonsense what is happening.

Thank you, Deputy.

We need a commitment from the Government that the system will be changed whereby funding is given to local authorities to speed up the restoration of voids.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We continue to have a big focus on the whole issue of vacancy and how to bring vacant properties and stock back into use in general. He made the point that even within the local authority stock, more could be done in terms of funding and timelines for the conversion of that stock back into use. I will raise that directly with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to get back to the Deputy.