Irish Examiner view: Pressure is rising in the market for homes

The stock of empty buildings and vacant homes could provide a swift response to tackling the housing crisis

An Old B&B sign hangs over a vacant property; tax levels on Ireland’s 180,000 vacant homes are being talked up to rise by five times next year; the vacancy tax will be tied to the value of the property. Pic Larry Cummins

All the usual suspects were present in the 160-page, 2030-pledge Housing for All strategy, launched with some fanfare last week — social housing, the rental market, start-up mortgages, affordable housing (although what is meant by “affordable” in real terms remains a mystery), planning restrictions, nimbyism, annual targets, the malign impact of investment funds grabbing new properties, and so on.

However, our regular series, 'Ireland’s Empty Towns', which today looks at Tipperary, reinforces that it is in the stock of empty buildings and vacant homes where the swiftest response may be found to an issue that the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil are banking on to be an electoral vote-winner.