Letters to the Editor: Unused vacant dwellings causing crisis

Inflation in construction materials and labour means the cost to the taxpayer in building social and affordable housing is astronomical. Picture: Larry Cummins

Can I be the devil’s advocate when it comes to what certain parties and groups call ‘the housing crisis’: There is no housing crisis per se, there is a lack of available housing.

Central Statistics Office figures show there were 166,000 vacant dwellings in Ireland, and 48,000 of those have been vacant since 2016; 27,000 of those properties are owned by people who have passed away; 35,000 of those are up for rent, with 23,000 more under reconstruction.