Danny Healy-Rae: Build Local Authority Homes, Don't Target Airbnb
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in a debate after a motion brought by Michael Collins and his group, arguing the solution to the housing crisis is to build more local authority houses and to incentivise owners of vacant properties. He opposed measures aimed at reclaiming Airbnb properties and urged planning reform, VAT cuts on building supplies, and stronger support for trades apprenticeships.
Danny Healy-Rae said the primary answer to housing shortages is to build more local authority houses at a standard size rather than trying to remove properties from short-term rental markets. He warned that many Airbnb hosts will not return properties to long-term letting, especially those operating for several years.
He proposed incentivising owners of vacant houses to rent them out, including a tax-free payment of €600 to landlords and higher payments for those housing refugees and Ukrainians, paid by the State. He argued this would be a practical way to bring empty homes back into use.
He called for planning permission to be granted where land is already serviced with sewer, water and ESB, rather than relying solely on zoning. He warned that the residential zoned land tax - a 3% annual charge mentioned in his remarks - is deterring landowners from zoning sites and could hinder house-building.
He highlighted problems builders face obtaining finance, noting builders must now deliver turnkey homes and carry all costs until completion. He contrasted this with staged payments still available to voluntary housing bodies and said the banks' restrictions are preventing small builders from starting projects.
He urged secondary schools to encourage boys and girls to enter trades and apprenticeships — electricians, block-layers, plasterers and carpenters — warning that without a new generation of builders there will be no houses. He stressed practical vocational routes alongside college education to sustain construction capacity.
Call for more local authority housing
Danny Healy-Rae said the primary answer to housing shortages is to build more local authority houses at a standard size rather than trying to remove properties from short-term rental markets. He warned that many Airbnb hosts will not return properties to long-term letting, especially those operating for several years.
Incentives for vacant properties and hosts
He proposed incentivising owners of vacant houses to rent them out, including a tax-free payment of €600 to landlords and higher payments for those housing refugees and Ukrainians, paid by the State. He argued this would be a practical way to bring empty homes back into use.
Planning access and zoned land tax concerns
He called for planning permission to be granted where land is already serviced with sewer, water and ESB, rather than relying solely on zoning. He warned that the residential zoned land tax - a 3% annual charge mentioned in his remarks - is deterring landowners from zoning sites and could hinder house-building.
Building costs, finance and staged payments
He highlighted problems builders face obtaining finance, noting builders must now deliver turnkey homes and carry all costs until completion. He contrasted this with staged payments still available to voluntary housing bodies and said the banks' restrictions are preventing small builders from starting projects.
Trades training and the construction workforce
He urged secondary schools to encourage boys and girls to enter trades and apprenticeships — electricians, block-layers, plasterers and carpenters — warning that without a new generation of builders there will be no houses. He stressed practical vocational routes alongside college education to sustain construction capacity.
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Transcript
Thank you very much. I want to thank Michael Collins and his group for bringing this motion here today and for giving us all an opportunity to talk about housing and to discuss as much as we can to see could we help. Indeed this is one of many motions and bills or whatever trying to address the housing but we do need to really get down to work and see after the people and ensure that everyone has a home. The answer is and has to be to build more local authority houses and at a standard size and not trying to stop people doing Airbnb I don't believe that we'll achieve or get any house back from Airbnb because the first thing we have to realise is that anyone that's at doing Airbnb for more than seven years they have planning for that by default and they don't have to go for planning and they don't even the ones that are at it for three or four years they don't intend to give back their houses for long-term letting. Vacant houses is another way we could achieve housing incentivize the owners to rent them out there's so many vacant houses everywhere and do something like giving the house owners 600 tax-free twice 800 to those who house refugees and and and Ukrainians I mean and that's being paid by the state the people that were that I envisaged would be renting and paying for the houses themselves and getting and that the landlord could get 600 tax-free I I think that's a lot of a way to try to get people to rent out their vacant properties planning should be granted to all those who want to build a house for themselves on sites we have many problems in in Kerry with the strict urban generated pressure that that rule and where people can't access national primary or national secondary routes because of blockages by by the department even though that is access there already reduce the vat on building supplies minister for new houses and repairing vacant properties land that is serviced this is another problem that's manifesting itself no minister where you have and people who want to zone their lands they're afraid to do it now in the Killian area the plan is being developed at the present time they're afraid to zone their lands because they'd be they'd be liable for the residential zone land tax and and that's unfair in that they don't know who's going who if anyone will buy their site or buy their the place they want to sell and they'd be loaded with a three percent tax uh every year until the value of the property was was gone so what i'm asking minister is uh where land is owned uh where land is serviced sewer and water and ESB people should be able to put in a planning application on that basis and and see if to jump the hurdle or or if it meets the requirements of the local authorities planning section rather than having it zoned zoning is complicated and and it's made more complicated now by the fact of the residential zoned land tax and it's going to hurt many people and it's going to hurt our our our achievements in in in in building houses because if it's not zoned as we are it can you can't build in it and and if people zone it and don't get uh someone to purchase it and builders are having serious uh problems in accessing money for to build the houses and they must build them now to a turnkey situation and and carry the cost of the building the house from day one until the day it's finished and that's not fair either because there used to be staged payments before and that's not allowed or happening anymore only for the voluntary housing bodies how is it working for one section and not for for for for for for people who want to build a few houses we always had builders floors around us building 17 18 houses maybe 20 houses a year in different around different towns and villages that's not happening anymore because those builders can't get off the ground they have to carry the cost of building the house totally themselves and that's that's wrong as well and the banks are are putting so many restrictions and the other thing minister is we need to at secondary school level try to encourage youngsters boys and girls uh to go into the trades uh because i honestly believe some of them uh it is grand to say go to college and get it get an education but we do need people to work on the ground we know we do need electricians we do do need block players we do need plasterers we do need carpenters and we need to get uh some incentive and get some advice given to the youngsters leaving secondary school that is that has worked for them and to go into those trades and do their apprenticeships and get get do not get the the the experiences that they need to go into building houses because if we don't have builders we won't have houses and it's looking that way it's already in our uh naked woods is the few old uh fellas all the fellas that are still at it and we don't seem to have enough young builders come in stream thank you very much