Government pressed on ways to tackle homelessness

The Government is under increasing pressure to beef up compulsory purchase orders and introduce a vacant home tax to tackle the homelessness crisis.

Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin was backed by a number of housing and homeless organisation in demanding both compulsorily purchase and leasing orders to allow the State take charge of houses that are unoccupied.

Mr Howlin said the number of vacant houses are “vastly out of line” with other developed countries. He said the Government must bring in a carrot-and-stick approach, through better incentives to encourage people to rent out homes, but local authorities must be given greater powers to either compulsory buy or rent unused proprieties.