The former Shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna has been lying in a dangerous and derelict state for 15 years. I have raised this matter a number of times. The local community has been promised repeatedly that the site will be secured and the hotel redeveloped. The closure of the hotel has been a huge loss to Portumna, an area with serious tourism potential but a lack of tourist accommodation. Efforts have been made to engage with the owners of the hotel, the Comer brothers, with a view to having the hotel reopened. They have not been successful. The planning permission for the redevelopment of the hotel has now lapsed, confirming that, as it stands, the owners still do not have any intention of redeveloping the hotel. All the while, the building lies empty, idle and in a derelict condition. The hoarding around the site is regularly breached. We know that people are entering the site. There have been videos taken from within the building. They show it in a dangerous condition and a state of total disrepair. The people who enter the site are trespassing but the reality is that derelict sites will attract curiosity, from young people especially. They attract antisocial behaviour and there is a serious risk of somebody being hurt, not to mention the fact that the building is a serious eyesore. It really detracts from the appearance of the village. Portumna is a fantastic town and one that is very popular with tourists. It has a lot to offer but this takes away from that. The site was previously on the derelict sites register. It is no longer on it. Galway County Council's position is that the site does not meet the definition of "derelict" within the Derelict Sites Act because it has hoarding all the way around it most of the time. This building does not have a roof on most of the structure. I want clarity from the Government on this. If a site has hoarding erected around it, does that automatically mean it is not classified as derelict? That has been the position of Galway County Council. I ask the Minister of State to clarify that in his response. At the same time, we have Coillte developing proposals for Portumna Forest Park, which borders the site of the Shannon Oaks Hotel. A survey carried out by a local community group showed clear opposition to the idea of building tourist accommodation in the forest park. The group believes the Shannon Oaks Hotel should be the focus of development of tourist accommodation with the locality. I again call on Coillte to engage meaningfully with the local community in relation to its proposals for the forest park. I call on the Government to support that call also. How can the owners of this hotel, the Comer brothers, be allowed to leave this hotel, which is an eyesore and a safety hazard, in this condition indefinitely and will they be held accountable?

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They are the owners of the hotel.

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I appreciate the response, but from what the Minister of State has outlined, if we are talking about CPO, would the Government provide the support to Galway County Council for what is presumably a very expensive building to be able to acquire that and, at a minimum, make the site safe? The planning permission on this has lapsed. The developers have no intention of redeveloping this hotel. It has been left in a derelict state for 15 years. It is an eyesore and a safety hazard. Young children are going in and out. Somebody has to take responsibility for this. It cannot be allowed to continue. I have raised this a number of times in this Chamber. It is not a new issue. I have raised it with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance. Government is well aware of this issue and the impact it is having on the town of Portumna. I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is and the risk of somebody getting hurt or losing their life. I do not want to hear more excuses or more kicking the can down the road. It is a problem that is not being addressed. I want to know what the Minister if State is going to do now to ensure that the owners of this property are actually held accountable and that the building is at the very least made safe. To go back to my earlier question in terms of the hoarding around the building, does that mean this site automatically cannot be on the derelict sites register because there is not hoarding around the building? There is hoarding around the building. I ask the Minister of State to clarify that. The owners of the hotel - the Comer brothers - are very wealthy people. They could redevelop the site. At the very minimum, they could take action to make it safe. They can afford it. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Therefore, the issue here is one of accountability. Is the Government going to take action and hold them accountable for leaving this site in a dangerous and derelict condition for the last 15 years? Will the Government give a commitment that it will support the local authority to CPO the property, if necessary, and make the site safe again?

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