Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I raise the national challenge of vacancy and dereliction in our towns and villages. In my own constituency of Tipperary South we see it clearly.

Towns like Clonmel, Tipperary town and Carrick-on-Suir are three of our key towns and all have prime retail streets with empty or derelict properties. Unfortunately, this is replicated right across the country. These are proud places with strong employment bases, great community spirit, and real potential but vacancy and dereliction are holding them back. The Taoiseach has said on many occasions that everything is on the table when it comes to addressing our housing and investment challenges, and particularly the role private investment can play in delivering apartments and mixed-use developments. This must include and be linked to tackling vacancy and dereliction. I believe there is a real opportunity for reform of the current regulatory and grant framework to address this challenge more effectively.

While I am aware of the understandable caution regarding tax incentives as a policy tool, I would ask the Government to consider a tightly targeted measure in this very specific context. Tax relief would be linked exclusively to the redevelopment of the derelict or vacant property in question and not to any other property holdings of the developer. Should relief, for example, be applied to future rental income from the redeveloped property ensuring any benefit is directly tied to the productive use of the asset? These properties currently generate no economic return for their owners, for the local economy or for the Exchequer. In the midst of a housing shortage returning them to productive use, whether for commercial or residential purposes, is a clear public good. If nothing is done then vacancy will remain stubbornly high, eroding the economic and social vitality of our towns and villages. By contrast, a focused and time-bound intervention confined to prime retail areas could trigger significant private investment, deliver new housing, and revitalise the very heart of our towns without creating a long-term financial risk. Will the Minister commit to reforming the regulatory and grant framework and consider new targeted measures so we can finally turn vacancy and dereliction into an opportunity?

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