Matt Shanahan Urges Reuse of 90,000 Vacant Homes to Ease Crisis

Minister, I am happy to open this debate on behalf of the regional group and this debate is ostensibly about the housing crisis that has been driven by firstly the lack of available existing dwellings for temporary or permanent habitation, the increasing input costs and rising inflation to finished construction costs. This is creating an affordability crisis for so many in our population and especially those who have aspirations to buy and live in their own homes. Supply deficits are also affecting the rental market where monthly rents have totally eclipsed most average monthly mortgage payments in the country and for many individuals and families renting is becoming unsustainable. The housing crisis is also creating great difficulty for local authorities tasked to make housing available to the vulnerable and those qualifying on low incomes. We also have dysfunction in builder housing finance availability and the overarching regulatory requirements which is stifling new build timelines and Opportunity Minister. This is also significantly slowing the whole housing delivery process while adding to the costs. Our motion calls on government to introduce initiatives that will bring the significant stock of vacant and derelict properties presently sitting unoccupied in the state back into use. Activating this housing stock for sale to new homeowners or supply to the rental market will go some way towards alleviating the present supply crisis and the upward trajectory in housing costs. More than 90,000 vacant properties have been identified throughout the state. These could form the basis of a recyclable housing stock with the right initiatives. Many need retrofitting and refurbishment but a sale into use price would reflect that. Many of these homes are located within our regional towns and villages and developing them could breed new life into our regional economy while venting much pressure from our large urban centres which at present cannot cope with the housing demand. Can I reference my own Region Minister of the South East where there are over 53,000 young people aged between 18 and 49 living at home. Those who are competing for the local authority housing list in my own County of Walford, for example, will, if they qualify, join a queue of 3,000 on the housing list for an annual local authority allocation of 300 homes. Across the whole of the South East there are over 23,000 vacant homes, excluding holiday units and some of the 500 vacant in the Fair Deal scheme. Minister, Government must move to make the houses locked up in Fair Deal available for rental agreements and available to the rental market. There must be several ways of creating innovative financial solutions that ensure the State gets fair recompense in terms of Fair Deal while allowing these houses to be made available to the rental sector. Government is making $4 billion available to tackle the housing situation and new modular building methods may be a significant step forward. At present, the company in Carlow can provide new one-bed units for €75,000 to €100,000. Adding some site valuation could deliver first-time buyer mortgages of just €400 to €600 per month in large parts of the country. An initiative has been suggested to me, Minister, which I offer to you. I believe it is worth considering under the Housing for All strategy. It basically requires that over a 12-month period under Housing for All, a tax credit could be used and converted from unallocated finances to first-time buyer properties of vacant homes. This credit could target, for example, vacant homes of €200,000 valuation, where the allocated buyer grant delivers €100,000 spend capacity. A similar grant could target first-time buyer grants for new modular home construction at less than €200,000. In Waterford, for instance, the Local Authority's Housing for All allocation is €125 million a year. If Council failed to allocate, for example, 30 per cent, this would amount to €37 million a year that could be reallocated to a new housing grant that could deliver between 180 and 360 new developed properties. This could deliver a significant number of new homes from vacant housing stock, Minister. These homes would meet both supply and affordability criteria, and they would allow many people to get the housing stock they so desperately need. Delivering this affordable solution would also allow these new families and individuals to retain some discretionary spending each month, which would deliver benefit to the regional and local economy. There are significant initiatives available to the government minister to help deal with the housing crisis, but they require government to have an open mind, and they also need the Department of Finance to show latitude in terms of providing new innovative debt solutions to the domestic housing sector. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.