Labour City Councillor Niall Mc Nelis has described as inadequate the Government’s recent announcement of €4.5 million in funding for 24 projects to address rural vacancy and dereliction.
He said that the funding is woefully inadequate and will not make a dent in the large-scale vacancy and dereliction problem that blights many areas.
“Every village and town across Galway has derelict buildings of closed shops and pubic houses.We in Labour have been calling for action on vacant and derelict buildings for a long time, and this announcement has been a long time coming. But it is far from enough. Given the current construction costs, €4.5m will hardly cover the costs of renovating these properties,” he said.
Cllr McNelis said that Government is missing the bigger picture here.
“While 57,206 properties are vacant according to Local Property Tax returns, Census estimates are much higher at 166,752 – that doesn’t include the 66,135 seasonal holiday homes.
“These are homes that could be used to house people, create jobs, support local services and revitalise communities. We need to turn the lights back on in our towns and villages. But the Government is not doing enough to incentivise or compel owners to bring them back into use.
“In Labour’s Alternative Budget, the party proposed a more ambitious and effective Vacant Homes Tax, which would set the rate at a minimum of €2,000 per year, and levy it at 1% of value, with the rate then ratcheting up further every year. This would encourage owners to either sell, rent or occupy their vacant properties, or face a significant tax bill.
“The Government’s token rise in the rate of Vacant Homes Tax, is utterly ineffective in driving the change that’s needed to get homes back into supply. It is a mere slap on the wrist for owners who are sitting on empty properties while thousands of people are homeless or struggling to afford a place to live. Labour’s Vacant Homes Tax would be a much stronger deterrent and a much fairer way of redistributing wealth and resources in our society,” he said.
“The Government’s funding for rural dereliction and vacancy is too little, too late. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of the problem and the cost of construction. It is a missed opportunity to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing rural Ireland today. Labour has a better vision and a better plan for rural regeneration and development, and we will continue to fight for it,” he said.
