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

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin. I welcome the report. I thank the chair and the committee. Sometimes we disagree and argue but in putting this housing and urban regeneration report together, people worked well because we need to come up with solutions, which the report outlines. There was extensive consultation with various groups that dedicate their time and energy to tackling dereliction and improving our towns, villages and cities. I thank all those who engaged in the process. I pay particular thanks to Dr. Frank O'Connor and Ms Jude Sherry from Anois. Myself and Deputy Ó Broin were in Cork city recently where we did a dereliction tour. It is a horrible thing to say but that is what we did. It was unbelievably shocking and heartbreaking to see the amount of dereliction and vacancy in my own city. But when I come up to Dublin and I travel along, the quays the same dereliction exists. If you go anywhere in the west, whether the little villages or big cities, you will see it. Historic, cultural and significant buildings are being left to rot in the centre of cities and towns. That is why the recommendations in this report need to be acted on. It is astounding that the joint committee can put together a report like this when surely the Department and previous Ministers knew this and failed to act. In my own county, we could clear the housing crisis and end homelessness if we tackled dereliction and vacancy. Some 9,990 properties are vacant in Cork alone according to GeoDirectory. Let us imagine what we could do but the Government has to have the will. As Deputy Ó Broin said, there must be a carrot and a stick. It is 32 years since the derelict site register came in. At the time the Minister for housing, Deputy Padraig Flynn said that dereliction had, unfortunately, become a growing problem in many towns and cities in Ireland and it was also taking away the attractiveness for inhabitants, tourists and potential industries.

So where are we now? We are in the exact same position. There are sites on the derelict site register that have been there for 32 years. These are buildings that could be homes for families and could be used to house new businesses but instead they are left go to rack and ruin and the people who are hoarding these properties are let get away scot-free. We think that is fundamentally wrong.

However, no measure of dereliction in villages, towns or cities exists. We do not have the data, as this report recognises. At the end of 2020, according to the derelict sites register there were 1,548 derelict sites in the State. I believe there are that many in Cork city and county alone. That shows just how out-of-touch the register is. I ask that the Minister take on board the reports recommendations. He should use the considerable resources available to him to catalogue the data on vacant sites that we need. The Derelict Sites Act has failed. It has not tackled dereliction. In 1995, five years after the Act came in, the then Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, said it was vital because developers were giving the finger to the corporations, as they were then. What is the difference now? A collection rate of 7% of the derelict sites register was applied in 2020. That compares with a 89% collection of council rates. How can we collect 7% of one levy and 89% of another? This is a no-brainer. At the end of the month the updated derelict sites levy collection data will be available. We all know that this data will not be up to date and that it will not be properly enforced. There is more than €12 million in untapped revenue that local authorities could generate, which could help turn these vacant properties and sites into homes. A lot of work has gone into this report. It needs to be delivered on now.

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