Galway TD slams Government over lack of accurate data on vacant properties

From Galway Bay FM newsroom- A Galway TD has told the Dáil that it's unacceptable that a decade into a housing crisis there are not just people without homes - but a lot of homes without any people.

Deputy Mairead Farrell said it's "remarkable" that Ireland has no property register for vacant and derelict properties, despite a huge number of empty units.

She pointed to a recent report that said there are almost 45 thousand empty properties in the west, north-west and midlands.

She said some say the figures are too high, while others say they're too low.

But the real issue, Deputy Farrell argued, is that we don't really know because there's no reliable source of data collected by the Government.