A recent investigative series in this newspaper set out the stories behind some of the thousands of derelict and vacant properties across the State. Who owns them? How long have they lain vacant? What efforts, if any, have been made to remediate and return them to daily use?
While the underlying reasons for individual cases of long-term vacancy can be complex, one fact is clear: the overall balance of incentives and penalties that apply to the owners of derelict properties are not having the required effect. The evidence of that failure can be seen across the State.
Dereliction is a policy failure. Addressing it will not solve Ireland’s ever worsening housing crisis. But it can make a significant contribution. And the social and environmental benefits of reducing dereliction are self-evident.
The positive impact of a proactive approach can be seen in a Government-funded scheme which has allowed local authorities to compulsorily purchase 1,297 vacant and derelict properties with an estimated residential yield of 4,853 homes.
In theory at least, the main policy instrument in this area is the derelict sites levy, first introduced in 1990 and increased from 3 to 7 per cent in 2020. This empowers local authorities to impose a charge on all derelict sites on their register and to charge interest at 1.25 per cent per month on unpaid fines.
Councils in Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Fingal, Galway city, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Sligo and Waterford city and county have not levied a single derelict site owner, according to Department of Housing figures for 2023, the latest that are available. In total, 13 local authorities did not apply a levy.
It would clearly be absurd to suggest that dereliction is not a problem across such a large swathe of the country. So one must conclude that these local authorities lack either the will or the resources to apply the law in their respective areas.
The startling variations in figures from one local authority area to another suggest that the real problem lies with a lack of commitment among some to tackling the problem. More than a fifth of all properties on the State’s derelict sites register are located in the Limerick city and council area. It is hardly a coincidence that Limerick established a derelict and vacant unit in 2017. In 2023 it collected € 286,076 from site owners.
There are more sites on Limerick’s register than for all four Dublin local authorities combined. That is a damning statistic on which all those responsible for governance in the capital should reflect. The chasm between the rhetorical commitment to addressing dereliction and the grim and apparently unchanging reality is dispiriting, as is the apparent absence of any accountability for such a long record of failure.
