Ms Jude Sherry:

In terms of how we define vacancy, there are a lot of discrepancies between local councils and with An Bord Pleanála. There is one particular example in Cork city where the property is listed as a derelict property on the derelict site register. Cork City Council tried to CPO the site. To put this in context, the building's two double bay windows have completely collapsed and it has been completely boarded up. It is uninhabitable. An Bord Pleanála agrees that it is uninhabitable. It stated that in its current form, the property does not present as a danger structure but that it is distinctly unsightly in the area. This is an area where there are many examples of residential and other structures in different structural conditions, inclusive of buildings in poor structural and visual presentation. Up until the 1990 Act, dereliction was defined as a visual pollutant only. The 1990 Act broadened that scope.