Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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On those two last points, I understand that in trying to contact the owner the local authorities check with the Property Registration Authority, send registered letters, and go back through old planning files to see the last point of contact. If they cannot find the owners, the local authorities affix a notice to the property, which normally alerts the person who is not living in the area because someone might call him or her to say a notice is stuck on the front door of that old building he or she has on a certain street. That tends to alert the person, who then has the opportunity to fix up the building in its general appearance. Sometimes if a roof is leaning out into the street, the local authority could carry out the work and charge it against the property. If that all fails, then it might go to the CPO. It would be the end of a long road. There is a lot of work involved, and it is only the minority that end up at this stage. An Bord Pleanála would only deal with the cases that are appealed to it.

I am curious to know if any of the appeals the board has had to date were financial institutions, people with what I would call a beneficial interest. That is a broad question and not about any specific case.