Half of boarded-up council homes in Offaly will remain out of use in 2025

Sinn Féin’s Cllr Aoife Masterson has slammed the government for "failing to properly resource Offaly County Council to bring empty social homes back into use quickly and efficiently".

Her comments come as figures released to Sinn Féin’s Thomas Gould show that just 26 of the more than 52 empty social homes in Offaly will be returned to use in 2025.

Cllr Masterson said: “Do this government not realise that we are in the middle of a housing crisis? Boarding up social homes when children are growing up in hotels is a sin.

“Offaly County Council are only given €11,000 per house. For many homes, this is an acceptable figure and allows the properties to be brought back to use. For others, this is simply not enough because of years without planned maintenance and these homes are instead boarded up and left to fall into further disrepair."

She said empty homes cause anti-social behaviour, dumping and increase stigma in the area.

"In every terrace or estate where there is an empty home, there are young families crammed into box rooms who would give everything for a home of their own in their community.

“Instead, the government is preventing Offaly County Council from being ambitious. They are stopping them from returning these homes to use and they are leaving these homes to rot instead.

She described the situation as an insult to people in Offaly who are stuck in a housing crisis.

“House prices in Offaly are up 18.2% on this time last year, having risen 7.7% in the last three months alone. The average price of a new build in Offaly is now a staggering €325,000 while average rent is now up to €1,554, up 4.8% on the same period last year.

"The reality is that far too many people are now forced into parents' back bedrooms. At the same time, homes owned by Offaly County Council are being left to rot.

“There is no sense of urgency from the government. Funding should be released to ensure that local authorities have the opportunity to return every single home to use. We do not need a Housing Czar – we need a Minister who funds local authorities, who listens to local authorities and who supports them to do their job.”