The Sinn Féin TD for the county, Pa Daly has said that as the housing crisis continues around Co. Kerry, there are thousands of potential homes lying vacant.
“These could be homes for people on the social housing waiting lists or the tens of thousands locked out of home ownership in Kerry,” he said.
Boarded-up and Empty
“Instead of filling these homes with people and families, they are sitting boarded-up and empty. Sinn Féin has a plan to bring these homes back into housing stock because it’s time to get serious about solving the Housing Crisis.
“The National Vacant Housing Reuse Strategy 2018-2021 has failed Co. Kerry. We have not seen the promised benefits and we are still in a county full of empty houses.
“The Repair and Lease and Buy and Renew Schemes are not working, delivering only 46 houses between them in the county towards the end of 2020.
Solving the Housing Crisis
“Sinn Féin have an ambitious plan to bring these homes back to use and start solving this Housing Crisis.
“Our plan would see the Department of Housing working with Kerry County Council to get families and individuals into these vacant houses.
“We would see social houses renovated and given out as soon as possible after they become vacant in a fast-tracked voids scheme. We would fund local authorities to conduct five-year rolling preventative maintenance audits on all social housing stock.
Working with Departments
“We would conduct a complete audit of all vacant stock and set multi-annual targets for the return of these. We would work with the Departments of Health and Housing to bring some homes in the Fair Deal scheme back into use in a fair way.
“Each of these potential homes in Kerry could have children playing in the back garden, dinners cooked in the kitchen and a family growing together under the one roof. Instead they are left empty and rotting,” he concluded.
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