What about Deputy Ciarán Ahern?

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The scourge of dereliction in the time of a housing crisis is, as was said, antisocial at best and a scandal. Many of the problems we face today predate the Minister's tenure as Minister for housing. I have served with the Minister on Wexford County Council. In my experience councils are afraid of their lives to go anywhere near derelict sites. Every time we bring proposals for remediating a particular property or doing something with a derelict site there always seems to be a problem. There always seems to be a difficulty. There always seems to be some stumbling block that a council cannot get over. One of the things the Minister needs to do in his Department is surround himself with problem solvers because in my experience over the years there are too many problem finders all across sectors of our Government, be it local or national. I will give an example of a site on Clonard Road in Wexford. The Minister will be familiar with the area. A derelict site notice was put up on 10 February 2025. Five minutes ago I texted the person who brought it to my attention. Nothing has been done. I draw it back to my belief that councils are afraid to engage in any way, shape or form in resolving the problem of dereliction. In many respects, when we look at some State agencies it is no wonder people leave properties derelict. Another property the Minister will be familiar with is Wexford General Hospital. It is one of the worst derelict sites in County Wexford. The HSE has sat idly by and let a wonderful property that has a history to it go completely derelict, so much so that it is now on the Abandoned Ireland website. There has been no intervention whatsoever by Government over years. Do not ask me why because it is a complete eyesore rotting in the heart of Wexford Town. What could be done with it now I do not know. There is a preservation order on it that has served nothing but to make it derelict because the HSE was not going to spend the extra money needed on a preserved building. Let me give an example of some of the stumbling blocks I am talking about. I submitted a question to the Minister for public expenditure and reform on 19 March 2025 in relation to Hookless Village in Wexford - a completely derelict leisure centre, bar and swimming pool. The Minister has probably seen photographs of it. I asked if anything could be done and part of the response I got was that the company that owned it had been dissolved since 19 October 2007 but could be restored to the company register up to 20 years after that date. If restored, any property it held would revert to the company as if it had never been dissolved. In law, a derelict site that belonged to a company that was dissolved in 2007 can lie derelict for 20 years for fear the company may somehow be reinvigorated, at which point it will revert back to the company's ownership. That is ludicrous. Legislation that this Chamber has introduced will allow a property to lie derelict - a dangerous property that children are breaking into, a swimming pool full of stagnant water, chairs, tables and "Space Invader" machines. We facilitate that by letting it lie there for 20 years in case the defunct business comes back into being. That is ludicrous and indefensible. Local authorities are afraid for their lives of derelict properties. I am more than a little disappointed to hear it will be 2027 before the derelict properties tax comes into place. We need immediate action. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann came to Wexford town and I was involved in its executive committee. There were a number of derelict buildings along Wexford's main street. Anthony Bailey, our manager, looked at these and said we could not have 8,000 people coming to Wexford. We CPOed a number of the buildings. We did so because our town centre needed to look its best as the nation and world descended on it. It was action by a proactive member of Wexford's local authority that brought that about. We need to get the problem-solvers into the system. I agree with Deputy Hearne that we need the compulsory sales order. It is a no-brainer. We cannot continue with CPOs. We need to inflict - I deliberately use the word "inflict" - compulsory sale orders on these blights and eyesores on our community. The housing problem is a huge and important issue and the thrust of Deputy Gould's Bill, but it is only one part of it. If we are sending the signal to our authorities they can have a derelict hospital or a derelict building left there for 20 years, what are the other guys who own derelict sites thinking? They are asking why they should get rid of their derelict sites if other such sites are lying there. We need to go hard to send the signal to every sector that dereliction and blights on our landscape and on our housing lists, seen by people walking by derelict houses every day of the week, will not be tolerated any more. The Minister has received some criticism here today but I have known him for a long time and hope he is the Minister to ensure these blights on our housing lists and our communities are removed once and for all and we can stand in this Chamber and say we are achieving something for the betterment of this nation and its people.

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