Local authority homes are left vacant in Kerry for longer than any other county.
Data released from Kerry County Council to Sinn Féin under the Freedom of Information Act show there were 123 council properties vacant on 23rd May this year.
65 of these have been vacant for less than a year, another 19 have been left vacant for between 12 and 24 months, but at the other end of the scale, eleven have been vacant for over nine years.
Kerry County Council’s Housing Department confirmed 30 of the 123 vacant properties it owns are earmarked for sale for various reasons, and will not be returned to the council’s housing stock.
Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly says Kerry County Council is underfunded by central government for the maintenance of its housing stock.
Meanwhile, Deputy Daly does not believe proposed changes to the rental market, which are going before cabinet today, will work.
He says the construction of more social and affordable housing is what the government should pursue.
