I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. My question is about central government support to local authorities for bringing vacant and derelict properties across our towns, cities and villages back into use, and specifically the buy and renew programme that has been in place for a period. In the constituency I represent, Dublin Central, there is an absolute scourge of dereliction. Across every community there are long-standing examples of derelict properties for which there has been no responsibility, accountability or action. There are a few examples of where the local authorities have acted, such as 19 and 21 Connaught Street in Phibsborough, but that tells the sorry tale of how our State deals with dereliction. It has been almost 20 years since it first went on the derelict site register. It came off the register when a bit of work was done, went back on it and eventually was purchased under a compulsory purchase order in 2019. In all that time since then, those two houses have not been brought back into use. The final nail in the coffin happened last year when there were significant changes to the buy and renew scheme by this Government. There is no doubt there is an exceptional cost to bringing many of these properties back into use and making them homes. I think we all recognise that and there is huge pressure for volume and to build lots of houses at the moment. I totally understand that but it is not acceptable that there are streets in our communities where the blight of dereliction continues. That is a problem for the whole community, not only because of illegal dumping but also for the adjacent houses and the community overall. Another example is 8 and 10 Ferguson Road, Drumcondra. Twenty years ago last year, the process of putting it on the derelict site register began. It finally went on the derelict site register in 2011 and was purchased under a compulsory purchase order in 2018. Those houses remain derelict to this day. When I talk to Dublin City Council, it tells me it has a huge problem in renovating these houses because it costs a lot of money. There is also a sense, however, that there is not Government support for local authorities in bringing these houses back into use. We can talk all we want about the war on dereliction and the move to the derelict levy, which will come in and be collected by the Revenue Commissioners next year and is welcome although much belated, but there needs to be a serious financial commitment and recognition by the Government that bringing these houses back into use costs money and a special scheme needs to be put in place. It is not acceptable for any community in the Minister of State's county, Mayo, or in my constituency of Dublin Central to be looking at these derelict houses any longer. We need a specific Government fix.

Sentiment score: -0.04

It is very welcome to hear this update. If I interpret correctly what the Minister of State said, we are moving from a buy and renew scheme to a renew and purchase or renew and sale scheme. It is slightly turning it on its head. That is not a bad thing, but the critical point is the amount of money that will be allocated for these projects. We know that 40,000 units of Dublin housing stock was built before the 1940s. Much of this is redbrick stock and some of it is in areas of architectural conservation. There are real issues with regard to how we bring these houses back into use, short of demolishing them. My concern ultimately is that while the scheme is potentially very welcome, the question is how much the Department and the Custom House are going to put behind it. There has to be recognition here, and I would be the first to talk about how costly it is for the State to buy turnkey homes and how costly can be in terms of Part 5 purchases, which we support. This will also be costly in terms of bringing stand-alone housing back into use. We need to see greater thinking with regard to how it will be financed and, perhaps, the use of some of these homes. Could we turn a two-bedroom or three-bedroom house into two apartments or some such innovation? The reality is that we cannot continue to have these houses remaining derelict. I look forward to the day when the scheme will be announced. My appeal is that we make sure it is properly resourced. We look forward to the detail on the contractor-led approach in terms of who will take it up and how exactly it will be taken up.

Sentiment score: 0.12