Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We all acknowledge that this as an issue that needs intervention. We know how disheartening it is for local communities, including those in west Cork, to see buildings that formerly housed thriving family businesses or were homes fall into disrepair. In many cases, Tidy Towns committees and property owners take on the responsibility of cleaning them up. We also have cases like Mitchelstown in north Cork, however, where the facade of a building recently collapsed. My colleague, Councillor Ross O'Connell, has been working on these issues in Goleen and Bantry in west Cork, which are examples of how even one or two vacant buildings in a town or village can have a disproportionate impact and give the impression of a high street that is empty and derelict.

The Minister highlighted the town and village renewal scheme as a means of bringing vacant and derelict sites back into use. However, that is a multipurpose and competitive scheme that is vastly oversubscribed. What specific interventions is she proposing under that scheme?

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