Thomas Gould

The rents are going up though.

It will be gone in March.

Fine Gael. Thanks for admitting it, fair play to you.

It will be gone in March. Does the Tánaiste not understand the legislation?

I spoke to a woman in my clinic on Monday who told me she is worried and anxious. She said she is nearly getting panic attacks because she does not know how she, her husband and her three kids are going to get through Christmas and what they are going to do in January when Christmas is over. They are doing everything now. She said they are watching the children in case they touch the heaters in th…

I do not think the Tánaiste answered the question. I asked him where was the tax break for ordinary workers in this budget. There was none. There was naught for ordinary workers. How can the Tánaiste then justify giving a tax break to people who have gold-plated pensions anyway? As Deputy Doherty has outlined, this is a tax break of €325,000. I do not know who is watching here tonight but ordinary…

-----and the Tánaiste is giving tax breaks.

There is an amendment. We are giving tax breaks but not to ordinary people.

The two previous speakers have summed up how we are giving massive tax breaks to developers. Hundreds of millions of euro in tax breaks are being given for apartments that are nearly built or are under construction. The Minister is an intelligent man. Why would the Government give someone a tax break when that property is already viable to be sold? Developers and builders do not construct apartmen…

I would like that question answered.

I remember the financial crisis and the destruction that came. People lost businesses and homes. Some lost everything. There were marriage breakups. In some tragic cases, people died by suicide as a result of the financial crash. Fast forward to 2025 and the banks are making vast profits. Where is the fairness? Where is the justice? The people at the heart of the financial crash who were bailed ou…

The question is whether what is happening is fair. I do not think it is. At this stage, after all these years, the Government cannot stand over what is being done. It is wrong.

First, I want to make a comment personally in relation to everyone who works in the health service, the unbelievable staff, whether it is doctors and nurses, healthcare workers, or cleaners, canteen staff and maintenance staff. I myself was in a hospital yesterday for another appointment. I am regularly there because I have had a number of health issues over the years. It is inspiring to look at t…

2. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if outstanding derelict site levies will be collected by Revenue; and whether additional funding will be provided to local authorities for collecting the register. [66120/25]

Will the Minister update the Dáil on whether outstanding derelict sites levies will be collected by Revenue and whether additional funding will be provided to local authorities for the collection of the register?

I can safely say that the Minister has just given a big spiel there, the same as the previous Minister did last year and the year before that. Nothing the Minister has outlined today will tackle dereliction. He talks about CPO activations. Local authorities will not take out CPOs because they are too complicated. They do not have the staffing, the resources or the money. I have looked at the Minis…

The Minister has said he is giving power to the Revenue Commissioners, but when will they start collecting levies? He said he is going to keep local authorities involved. The local authorities have been keeping derelict site registers since 1990. That is 35 years. Why are we not putting a levy on today? Why are we letting land hoarders and speculators get away with destroying communities and towns…

No, it was 2016.

The Minister can rub it in but-----

It is hard lines when you will not give us an answer, but not to give your own man an answer? Jesus. I know less now than before you started to talk.

Will the Minister update the Dáil on the funding allocated to local authorities to bring the thousands of vacant properties back into public use for social housing, and will he make a statement on the matter?

Can I give the Minister of State a bit of advice and provide him with a solution? I sincerely want the Government to take this on board. He has just said the voids programme will be open in the new year. Why is it not open today? Why is the voids programme not open 365 days a year so that when a house comes back, the local authority can fix it up and allocate it out? Opening it just once or twice …

I am not sure if the Minister of State knows this, but he should. If someone is not telling him this, he should get into the Department tomorrow and ask the question. He talks about preventative maintenance. At the current rate of preventative maintenance, it will take 78 years to do the stock survey of all local authority housing. That is the figure the Government provided to me - 78 years - and …

I got the figures from the Department.

These are the facts.