Local Authorities must be far more proactive in dealing with dereliction – Burke

A national review of derelict property must take place with urgency and each individual Local Authority must be more proactive in dealing with the issue according to Fine Gael Cork North Central TD, Colm Burke.

Deputy Burke was speaking after his recent Parliamentary Question revealed that Cork County Council did not register any additional property to its derelict site register in 2020 and only collected €900 in respect of levies.   They currently have 180 properties on their derelict site register.

“Figures I obtained in the Dáil show that Cork City Council had 100 derelict sites at the start of January 2020 and that figure stood at 95 derelict sites by the end of the year. Cork County Council showed no addition or reduction of derelict sites with a figure of 180 sites at the start and at the end of the year, and a paltry €900 in levies collected.

“In September, the Department of Housing sought returns from all Local Authorities regarding the implementation of the Derelict Site Act during 2020. I would like to see the details of this published, as well as information from each Local Authority on the proactive steps they are taking to deal with the dereliction which is clearly visible in our towns and cities

“The Minister for Housing has confirmed to me that work is underway by the Department of Finance through the current Local Property Tax returns to assess the present vacancy situation. However I believe that we also need to see the returns for each Local Authority to the Department of Housing published with urgency.

“There are a number of schemes designed to tackle dereliction in our towns and villages. These include:

• A new local authority-led programme to help Local Authorities buy or compulsory purchase 2,500 vacant homes in their areas which can then be sold on the open market will ensure homes don’t lie vacant.
• Reform of the Fair Deal Scheme to remove disincentives to selling or renting unused homes.
• The Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of serviced sites for housing, to attract people to build their own homes and to support the refurbishment of vacant properties, enabling people to live in small towns and villages, in a sustainable way.
• A new Town Centre First policy, which will include approaches to utilising existing stock and new financial incentive mechanisms.

“The Government’s Housing For All plan commits to tackling dereliction through these schemes and it also references harnessing European Regional Development Funding in 2022 to tackle vacancy and dereliction in towns. To address the problem comprehensively, we need a clear picture of the level of dereliction across the country and a far more proactive approach by Local Authorities

“The most recent figures available from Census 2016 indicate that there were 183,000 vacant homes nationwide, a 20% reduction on figures reported in Census 2011 (230,000). It’s important we review the picture since that reduced figure in 2016; we want to ensure that progress continues. Bringing derelict sites back into use is a hugely important part of our housing strategy and it is time that Local Authorities showed some urgency on it,” concluded Deputy Burke.