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

Dereliction and vacancy is a key issue. However, I would argue that never has more funding been made available through a whole variety of schemes to try to end dereliction and get urban regeneration going. In the first instance we have the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF. A lot of that is yet to come through in terms of the schemes. Funding has been allocated, schemes have been announced, but through design and planning it is going to take quite some time before we will see that on our street landscapes and in our towns and cities. Then we have the rural regeneration and development fund on top of that, through which about €575 million has been invested in about 245 major projects since the Government was formed. That has supported landmark regeneration projects. About €400 million in the URDF is currently giving assistance to 132 projects.

The Deputy said not to mention Croí Cónaithe. It provides for the vacant property refurbishment grant itself. Some 8,300 applications have now been received by local authorities with some 5,100 already approved. That will help vacancy and dereliction in a very concrete way. In my view, it is a far more direct way than some of the ideas the Deputy has put forward, which I agree with, in terms of streamlining CPO. The Derelict Sites Act has never reached its potential, I accept the Deputy's point. However, I do think there is an onus and responsibility on local authorities to do better in respect of being proactive on implementation of the Act. I will talk to the Minister about the working group and getting it to complete and publish the report. That could inform some of the issues the Deputy highlighted.

As to whether we would give Revenue a role, the Revenue Commissioners are wary of being asked to do everything in terms of what may be seen as policies for other Departments to enact. It is the domain and jurisdiction of local authorities. Certainly from what I have seen on the ground, the derelict sites framework has not worked to the degree that it should. The town centre first initiative of the Government will make a difference in towns across the country. There is a range of measures, including rural regeneration and development, urban regeneration and development, Croí Cónaithe and the town and village renewal scheme, which are incentivising the bringing back to life of derelict buildings and derelict residential streets. That is the key.

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