Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support the comments of the Acting Chairman, Senator Cummins and Deputy McAuliffe. All of us can agree about the pressure this puts on local authorities and councillors trying to bring forward budgets when they are trying to make decisions. This year that will be in August. Something has to be done to give local authorities some flexibility. They must balance their books every year, but it is difficult to balance a budget in a vacuum or to make an estimate. Something has to be done and this will have to be reconsidered.

Derelict or vacant properties can, by their nature, be undervalued by their owners. In fact, because they are derelict or vacant, they may not have the same value as similar properties next to them. In considering those valuations, does the Department consider the valuation of the average property price in that area or of the derelict property itself? A person who owns such a property might leave it derelict if he or she does not intend to sell it because it will keep the property price low. That might be an issue for the Department to consider.