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Empty buildings owned by Office of Public Works on Military Road, Dublin 8[/caption]The Green Party today called on the Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy TD to rethink the approach to housing in the light of the failure of the Repair – Lease Scheme.Cllr. Ciaran Cuffe said: “The Government are unwilling to tackle the housing crisis. They cannot rely on light-touch regulation to deliver homes. The City Council’s Vacant Sites Register shows that two Government agencies: the HSE and the OPW own large empty land holdings in Central Dublin. These can and should be used to deliver homes. This Government appears crippled by inertia, and voted down the Green Party’s sensible Vacant Sites Bill 2016 to provide for a stronger approach to vacant sites.“The OPW owns three storey buildings across the road from Heuston Station on Military Road in Dublin 8 that could provide homes for families living in hotels. Why can’t Minister Murphy tell Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran to convert these buildings into homes? He can’t shed crocodile tears over the failure of the Repair – Lease Scheme when he is presiding over empty buildings that could be used for housing. He must instruct Moran to deliver the goods.”Cllr. Patrick Costello stated “The Repair – Lease Scheme is a softly-softly scheme to encourage empty homes back into the market but it just isn’t working. We need to introduce a stronger vacant site levy with stiffer penalties for those sitting on empty properties in high demand locations, which is reality covers all of Dublin.”ENDSIssued 10th July 2017, page last updated 15th July 2017