It should not take more than a year to turn around a social home – this should be done in a matter of weeks 

The State must take the lead in tackling vacancy, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan T.D.

Deputy O’Callaghan was reacting to a report, from the National Oversight and Audit Commission, which found there were 4,467 vacant social housing units at the end of 2020.

“It is unacceptable that there are 4,467 vacant social housing units while over 60,000 households are on the social housing waiting list. It should not take more than a year to turn around a social home. This should be done in a matter of weeks in most cases or a few months, if extra work is needed.

“The State must take the lead in tackling vacancy. Every available social housing unit should be a home. Month after month now, we are seeing the homeless figures rise. Over 8,000 people are living in emergency accommodation. This figure could be significantly reduced if vacant social houses were brought back into use.

“This report shows that there are big discrepancies between Local Authorities on the number of vacant social houses and the turnaround times. In some areas, the vacancy rate is lower than 1%, while it is over 7% in others. While the average re-letting time varies from 11 weeks in Monaghan to over 85 weeks in Cork City.

“From an environmental perspective, we know that making full use of existing buildings is the most sustainable approach. Bringing vacant social homes back into use is not only good for families and communities, but it is also better for the environment.

“The Minister for Housing must respond to this report with urgent and meaningful action.”

9 November, 2021

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