Sharon Keogan: State Holds Vacant Homes While Locals Wait
Sharon Keogan accuses the state of holding residential properties for asylum accommodation in Stamullen while local families wait years for housing. She says homes in ForgeHill have been in Department of Justice ownership since 2022 and demands ministers explain the policy and lack of consultation.
What happened
Sharon Keogan outlines evidence from a well-attended public meeting showing a house in Forge Hill has been owned by the Department of Justice Home Affairs and Migration since 2022, when Minister Helen McEntee held the justice brief. She says 29 houses across the country have been acquired for international protection accommodation, with some left vacant despite urgent local need.
Local impact and strain
Keogan describes Stamullen as a community under extreme pressure: high concentrations of accommodation and care facilities, full schools, stretched healthcare access and families stuck on housing lists with little prospect of allocation. She argues the state is effectively removing available homes from the local market while leaving some properties unused.
Concerns about transparency and planning
Keogan demands answers about decision-making, consultation and published capacity assessments. She highlights a recent report she cites showing basic data such as nationality in houses is not being recorded, preventing proper measurement of who benefits and where pressures are greatest.
Call for accountability
Keogan calls for the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, or Colm Brophy to appear before the chamber to explain the policy and its consequences. She warns that what is happening in Stamullen could happen in other communities if the state continues to acquire and hold residential properties without consultation or transparent planning.
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Leader, Stamullin is a town of roughly 4,000 people where local families are waiting years for housing yet the state now owns residential properties there intended for asylum accommodation including homes that have sat vacant despite acute local need. That is a situation residents are grappling with. A well-attended public meeting last night confirmed that a house in the Forge Hill estate has been in the Department of Justice Home Affairs and Migration ownership since 2022 when our own Minister Helen McEntee was the Minister for Justice. While families living in the same estate remain on housing lists with no prospect of allocation this is occurring in a community already under extreme pressure. Stamullin and its surrounding areas host a very high concentration of accommodation and care facilities while local schools are full, health care access is stretched and garden resorts are minimal. Who knew in this chamber that the Department of Justice were now a housing agency focused on housing international protection applicants? Decisions of this scale are being made without meaningful consultation, transparent communication or any published assessment of local capacity. This contributes to a frankly insane national situation, a country in the grip of an acute housing crisis where working families and young families cannot access homes while the state acquires or holds residential properties for other purposes, even leaving them vacant for years. This is a failure of governance, planning and prioritisation. A recent report also showed that the state is ignoring basic data such as nationality in houses, meaning it will not even bother to measure who benefits, where pressures are the greatest and whether resources are being fully used efficiently. All considered what we are looking at beggars belief, a system where first-time buyers and those on housing lists appear to be easily outflanked on one side by new arrivals entitled to the same benefits and on the other side by a state that is recklessly eating up available accommodation without any consultation. The Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan or Colin Broughy must appear before this chamber to explain what is happening. 29 of these houses have been brought throughout this country because otherwise this situation is nothing but madness and our community will not put up with it. Indeed Senators, it's my community today, it'll be your community tomorrow, so wake up.
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