Is there a shortage of empty houses in Donegal South West? Senator Brian Ó’Domhnaill writes on the Fianna Fáil blog (yes I know I read it!) about debates happening the Dáil and Seanad this week on the Planning and Development Amendment Bill 2009.

Senator Ó’Domhnaill says the bill will make it easier for people to build houses where they have persmission to buildon a site but have not yet started building.  The legislation will permit an extension in planning permission.

I did wonder about the 300,000 empty homes that there are in Ireland at the moment and if the Senator and his colleagues should not be coming up with some ideas of filling them. And then I realised that Senator Ó’Domhnaill is a senator in Donegal South West. The constituency that for the last 8 months has not had it’s full quota of TD’s since the vacancy created by Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher’s election to the European Parliament.  And Senator Ó’Domhnaill may just be in the running for selection to contest the by-election if the government ever get round to moving the writ.

There just maybe votes in sites with planning permission and owners with no money to build.

I know a lot of young people and families in Donegal who were ready and willing to get their foot on the property ladder. They achieved their planning permission they were eager to get going.

But the downturn has seen a lot of people lose their jobs and obviously this hinders their ability to start the building process.

I think that’s called  turning a negative into a positive into a…

I didn’t recognise the Senator from his picture – something tells me I won’t forget his face too easily in the months to come.