Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 June 2026
191. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the latest measures he and his Department are taking to address the issue of dereliction in sites across Dublin north-west; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48185/26]
View answerThe Derelict Sites Act 1990 imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site.
Local authority powers also include requiring owners or occupiers to take appropriate remedial measures on derelict sites, acquiring derelict sites by agreement, or compulsorily, and applying a derelict sites levy on derelict sites with a view to influencing property owners to bring their properties back into productive use or to put them on the market. It is a matter for local authorities to determine the most appropriate use of the legislation within their respective functional areas.
Local Authorities are required to submit an annual return to my Department providing information on the operation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in their functional areas and this is undertaken in the following year. Statistics for 2025 are not currently available.
Derelict Site returns for 2024 received by local authorities are available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-governmient-and-heritage/publications/annual-returns-for-2024-received-from-local-authorities-under-the-derelict-sites-act-1990/
As announced within Budget 2026 and confirmed in Government’s Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the existing Derelict Sites Levy is to be replaced with a new Derelict Property Tax, to be collected by the Revenue Commissioners. The new Derelict Property Tax is a necessary step in tackling the scourge of dereliction. The new tax will actively incentivise property owners to bring neglected and derelict buildings and sites back into use, and in doing so, increase our national housing supply.
A wide package of measures have been brought forward by Government to address dereliction in recent years. These measures include the provision of Vacant Homes Officers and Town Regeneration Officers in local authorities, the implementation of the Vacant Homes Action Plan and related resourcing and funding supports. This funding includes Call 3 of the Programme under the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment (formally URDF) which provides a €150 million revolving fund for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties and sites for re-use or sale. The Fund is replenished from the proceeds received from the sale or reuse of properties, allowing a rolling fund for each local authority to tackle vacancy and dereliction.
In addition, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant provides up to €70,000 in grant support to bring derelict properties back into long term use as homes. There has been significant interest in the grant since its launch, with over 15,600 applications made to local authorities to date and over €230 million of grant funding paid out across the country. In December, I announced a new enhanced support package of up to €140,000 to bring vacant ‘above shop’ property in our cities, towns and villages into use as homes, which became available in Q1 of this year.
This grant may be used in combination with exemptions from the requirement for planning permission for the conversion of certain types of vacant commercial property into residential use, such as ‘living over the shop’ accommodation, up to a maximum of 9 residential units.
The Regulations, which were first extended in 2022 under SI 75/2022 to include an exemption for the conversion of vacant pubs, have now been extended to the end of 2028. Up to the end of 2024, local authorities received 1,457 notifications from developers intending to avail of the exemptions. If acted on, this would result in 3,429 new homes across the Country.
A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) Activation Programme was also launched by my Department in April 2023. The Programme supports a proactive and systematic approach by local authorities to the re-use of vacant and derelict properties. It also includes guidance for local authorities to actively use their legislative powers, including under the Derelict Sites Act, to acquire vacant and derelict properties, where engagement with owners has been unsuccessful. This requires local authorities to take a proactive, systematic approach to identifying and activating vacant and derelict properties. It includes use of their compulsory purchase powers under the Derelict Sites Act and the Housing Act, when engagement with the owners of these properties is not successful in bringing them back into use. Under the CPO Activation Programme targets are set, with local authorities required to identify vacant and derelict properties, and record activity and outcomes. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, data will be published annually on local authorities’ achievements in progress and delivery.
The Government’s Housing Action Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, builds on existing measures and programmes to tackle dereliction and includes further additional actions in Pillar 1 for this area. It aims to end dereliction and vacancy in order to provide increased numbers of new homes and revitalise the communities in villages, towns and cities. Other specific actions beyond the Derelict Property Tax include the provision of a digital national Derelict Sites Register, increased numbers of properties on Derelict Site Registers, increased compulsory acquisition of properties where owners fail to engage with local authorities and increased collection of unpaid Derelict Site Levies.
