Government has failed to take dereliction seriously, says Bacik

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has expressed alarm at what she calls the “utter failure of Government to put in place a plan for tackling vacant and derelict homes.”

Bacik said it is a “dereliction of duty by Government” to hand over all responsibility for tackling empty homes to local authorities, who she says are not adequately funded.

“Despite the vast number of empty homes lying vacant and derelict nationwide, this Government is failing to grasp this low-hanging fruit to ease the housing crisis immediately,” she said.

Bacik raised the issue with Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, where O’Brien attempted to “pass the buck and the blame to local authorities” in the view of the Labour housing spokesperson.

“We know that local authorities are massively underfunded and under-resourced to meaningfully tackle the scale of the problem,” she said.

Bacik’s line of questioning comes as the Dublin City Council’s Budget Consultative Group was notified by the Department of Housing that central government subvention for refurbishment is dropping from 25% to 20%.

She cited figures received by Labour Councillor for the South West Inner City Darragh Moriarty where it was projected by Dublin City Council that 660 fewer voids will be turned around over between 2024 and 2026.

She said this was a “direct result of Government cutting central funding.”

“Our concern is that this is not only a Dublin problem, and that this lack of funding and support is replicated in local authorities nationwide.”

“There has been a systematic reduction in funding from a high of 65% back in 2018 – at a time when construction costs are increasing and when the need for social homes is more pressing than ever.”

She said that while in ideal circumstances local councils would be able to build and provide social housing, but this is not possible as Ireland’s local authorities have been significantly weakened since the reform of local government during the last recession, which led to the abolishment of town and urban councils.

Labour was part of the coalition government that passed the reforms, which caused local councils to lose a significant amount of power and control, but Bacik has asserted that the current situation is the fault of Fianna Fáil and their control of the housing portfolio.

“Fianna Fáil are further weakening local powers by cutting its funds to turn empty sites into homes for people,” she said.

“It beggars belief; in February, Dublin City Council has seized just 25 derelict homes in 5 years, and councils need to be supported to get people into secure homes of their own.

“There is an abject failure, and indeed lack of interest from Fianna Fáil to address this crisis head-on and give local authorities the resources and teeth needed to bring more homes into supply for those who need them.”