Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think there are more. I take the Deputy's point. I do not think the existing Derelict Sites Act has been effective. That is why the Government is moving to add measures and instruments to deal with dereliction. The urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, has been very effective in respect of dereliction in our cities and our major towns but it is going to take time for it to feed through. The equivalent rural fund will do likewise. The combination of those with the Croí Cónaithe fund will do far more than any derelict sites Act has done with regard to dereliction in our towns and villages. The town centre first policy, which has been published, is a further policy instrument to enable us to reduce and try to eliminate dereliction across the country. Fundamentally, given the enormous housing need, we have to use every mechanism we have to get empty buildings into use.

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