Mr. Conor O'Connell:

Vacancy is a huge area that needs to be tackled. We need a sustainable development initiative to regenerate and rejuvenate our city and town centres all over the country. There is data available and we can all see vacant properties when we walk around our cities and towns. There are lots of buildings that can be brought back into use. One of the issues is that some of the buildings are small and if they are converted into five to seven units, or into two or three units above a shop, then the taxation structure for small landlords has to be reformed because it is not attractive at the moment to take on a derelict building. One does not really know what one is facing when one is trying to regenerate it. It is a risky area and then if a small landlord is renting out the property, the current taxation structure is a disincentive. There are also issues with building regulations.

There are other issues as well, including significant title issues regarding many derelict buildings in our towns and cities. It can be very difficult to secure a title.