Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has claimed that most of the vacant council houses are “generally vacant for a reason,” as he defended his government’s record on housing.
The remarks were made in response to figures released this week, which showed that by the end of June this year, there were over 3,500 vacant council homes around Ireland – a fact which Aontú leader Peadar Toibín TD dubbed “incredible.”
By the end of June this year, there were over 3,500 vacant council homes around Ireland, new FOI figures have revealed – even as the housing waiting list tops 95,000.#gripthttps://t.co/Zt8sU9BF1C
— gript (@griptmedia) September 11, 2023
“It is incredible that in the jaws of a national emergency in terms of housing, that well over 3,000 local authority homes are lying empty tonight,” Toibín told RTÉ News on Monday.
“There are enough empty local authority homes in the State to house well over half the number of people who are homeless.”
Reacting to the figures, however, Varadkar insisted that there was a good reason for this situation.
“In relation to vacancy, I looked at the figures,” the Taoiseach said.
“What that indicates that at any point in time about 2% or 3% of local authority houses are vacant. And they’re generally vacant for a reason.
“Sometimes they’re being refurbished. Sometimes they’re being earmarked for demolition to be replaced by new complexes – you see that all over Dublin. Sometimes a tenant has moved out and a new tenant is about to move in. So you’ll always have a certain amount of vacancy.”
He added: “If it’s in around 2% or 3%, I think in the vast majority of cases, it’s vacancy for a good reason.”
Varadkar also argued that his government has shown urgency on the issue of housing by building “more social housing last year than any year since the 1970s.”
“And we will do that again this year, probably add about 10,000 social homes to the housing stock,” he said.
“And that’s providing homes for thousands of families.”
These comments echoed similar remarks by the Department of Housing in response to Toibín’s criticism.
“Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock, which will inevitably fluctuate over time as tenancy surrender and re-letting is an ongoing process,” the Department said yesterday.
“The reasons for vacancy can also vary, and may include units which are marked for demolition and major regeneration or earmarked for sale, for example.”
Yesterday, Toibín laid culpability at the feet of the State and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, dubbing the situation “unforgivable.”
“The State is failing significantly in terms of renting and turning around these empty council houses,” he said.
“It is incredible that the State is the biggest culprit, the biggest hoarder in terms of empty homes in Ireland. And I think it’s unforgivable.
“It is correct that local government is at fault here. There’s no doubt about it but it is also true that, you know, the housing policy, the housing provision and the objective of making sure that every family has a home really comes underneath the responsibility of the Minister for Housing and the Department of Housing.”