250,000 vacant houses could help address housing shortage

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has admitted the government needs to do more to get vacant houses occupied.

Earlier, the Homelessness charity the Peter McVerry Trust called for a compulsory purchase scheme for vacant homes.

It follows the release of figures from The Housing Agency, indicating up to 250,000 houses are lying empty around the country.

Simon Coveney says the government says these properties could help address the housing shortage: “We have nearly ¼ million properties that are vacant. Many of them would be more than suitable for social housing or for families to lease, or buy or rent.

“And so undoubtedly we need to do a lot more than is currently happening to get those properties back in use.”