Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Derelict sites are the low-hanging fruit in terms of addressing the housing crisis that we have.

I know the Tánaiste visited Drogheda briefly during the local and European election campaigns, but he did not walk down a street in Drogheda called Narrow West Street. Had he done so, he would have seen a case study of dereliction and things that can go wrong. He talks about resourcing local authorities and making sure they do the job they are required to do under the Derelict Sites Act. That is all well and good, but the Government might consider resourcing them properly. Louth County Council, for example, got a total of €7 million this year for its CPO agenda. That amount is nothing close to what is required to allow it to fulfil its plans to acquire properties under CPO and bring them back into use. What should be considered is, for example, the compulsory sales order idea. This is in place in Scotland. If a developer is not using a property and if it is derelict, he or she is required to sell it on to somebody who can use it.

What we need is a national conversation about property interests and property rights and how they are balanced against the rights of the common good. In the review of the Derelict Sites Act, we need to prioritise community interests, the common good and the public interest over the property rights of developers and property owners.

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