'We have to make it simpler to convert vacant properties to housing', committee hears  

A more streamlined approval process is needed to address the cost, delays and uncertainty in converting vacant buildings into housing, an Oireachtas committee has heard. File picture: Larry Cummins.

A more streamlined approval process is needed to address the cost, delays and uncertainty in converting vacant buildings into housing, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Architect Mel Reynolds told the Oireachtas joint committee on housing that the statutory hoops to jump through in bringing a vacant property back into housing stock are extensive, and are much lengthier than the process in the UK and Northern Ireland.