Opinion: Cian O'Callaghan of the SocDems says there can be no justification for leaving thousands of homes lying empty...
IT IS CLEAR that Ireland’s housing crisis has now become a housing emergency. Tackling it now requires a level of political courage and speed that has not been seen in this country for some time. What we’re witnessing today with the chronic housing shortages is the result of persistent political tinkering around the edges for years. This simply does not work.
Across the country, there are at least 100,000 empty homes. This figure does not include holiday homes. GeoDirectory, using reports from An Post delivery staff and Ordnance Survey Ireland, has identified 83,662 vacant homes and 21,481 derelict residential properties nationwide. Our motion encourages property owners to act in the public interest. There can be no tolerance for such high vacancy levels in a housing crisis – a crisis that will be compounded by the Government’s refusal to extend the no-fault eviction ban. This is against the backdrop of a dysfunctional rental market, with a dwindling supply of properties and sky-high rents.
At a minimum, the State needs to build at least 20,000 affordable purchase, affordable rental and social homes a year, but the Government has missed its delivery targets for three years running. Since taking office, the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has left a billion euro of his department’s budget unspent – funding that could have and should have been used to build more homes.
Bringing up to 100,000 empty homes back into use could have a transformative effect on the housing supply and would take pressure off the many families and individuals struggling to find somewhere affordable to live. If this measure is combined with an increased supply of homes that are genuinely affordable, it could have a real and lasting impact.
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