Munster Express Online

Over €1 billion worth of local authority housing stock is currently empty according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman TD Bernard Allen.

Figures obtained by the PAC Chair from the Department of the Environment showed that in 2005, a total of 5,270 local authority dwellings lay unoccupied across the country.

The ‘05 figures were the most recent statistics made available to the Fine Gael TD. The PAC has requested that the Department supply it with the 2007 figures which it says will be available “in a number of weeks”.

According to Deputy Allen: “Valuing these properties at a conservative average of €200,000 each indicates that local authority housing stock to a total value of more than €1 billion was vacant across the country in 2005.”

Neither Waterford authority (along with Kilkenny, South Tipperary and Wexford) feature in the figures referred to in Deputy Allen’s statement.

Those authorities with the largest number of vacant properties were: Dublin City Council (2,507); Cork City Council (479); Cork County Council (226); Dun Laoghaire Rathdown (170); Kerry County Council (164) and Limerick City Council (163).

Regarding the percentage of an authority’s dwellings that were vacant, Dublin City Council was highest with 9.2 per cent, followed by Roscommon (6.6 per cent); Cork City (six per cent); Clare (5.3 per cent); Sligo (5.2 per cent) and Limerick City and Mayo (both five per cent).

Deputy Allen said that he would be calling on the Department of the Environment’s Secretary General “to account for the numbers of vacant local authority properties”.

He added: “We won’t have the 2007 figures for a while but I’m not optimistic they will show an improvement in the situation.

“It is totally unacceptable that at a time when housing waiting lists are at record highs such a large amount of property should be vacant.

“No doubt there are acceptable reasons why some houses are empty such as regeneration schemes but not on this scale. This raises major questions about the efficiency with which local authorities operate and in my role as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee I will be seeking answers.”