Nothing is being done for people in Kerry who want to build their own houses, a TD has complained.
Accommodation is being found for approximately 1,000 people arriving into the country every week yet the money isn’t there to house local people, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae has pointed out.
“I am calling for a cap on that and for us to look after our own first,” he stated.
The Kerry TD said while he welcomes the fact that a farmer’s son or daughter are able to secure planning permission to build, nobody else is succeeding.
“The only place you can get planning permission for a site is in a town such as Killarney but you would pay €250,000 or €300,000.
“The grandest man in the world contacted me in the past few days. He is bringing home nearly €900 per week and he went to Bank of Ireland for a loan but all it would give him was €90,000.
“It would take 35 years to pay it back and he would have paid €190,000 at that stage. How is that fair?” he asked.
The Independent politician said the government is giving grants for only €11,000 to local authorities for vacant houses when they cost €70,000 to do up.
“With another scheme, the government will give €800 per property to house Ukrainians but it will not provide that to house local people at all. How is that fair?” he asked.
The Kerry TD added that if people on the council waiting list get house from the local authority or a housing body, they cannot purchase it anymore.
“Everyone wants to buy out their home and they did so in the 1950s and 1960s. They all finished up buying out their houses and the money went back into the coffers,” he said.
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