Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the derelict sites levy collection in 2024. [24896/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State provide an update on the amount collected by means of the derelict sites levy in 2024? We know that the derelict sites register and the derelict sites levy together constitute one of the only ways to get at landlords who are hoarding properties and letting them fall into rack and ruin.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important issue. I know he is passionate about it, as am I. We sat on the joint committee together previously.

This is an issue that the Deputy raises consistently. Both the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I are committed to ensuring that it is addressed. We are reviewing the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act through engagement with local authorities. As the Deputy knows, the Act imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that land does not become or continue to be a derelict site as defined in the Act. The Act imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become or continue to be derelict.

Each local authority maintains a derelict sites register under section 8 of the Act for sites which they consider to be derelict. Sites entered on the derelict sites register are subject to an annual derelict sites levy of 7% of market value, which will continue to apply until the site is rendered non-derelict. This is an increase from the previous 3%, as the Deputy knows. Local authorities are required to submit an annual return to my Department, providing information on the operation of the operation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in their functional area. The derelict sites returns are collated in quarter 2 of the following year. A total of 1,913 sites were listed on local authority registers as of 31 December 2023. In conjunction with local authorities, my Department is engaged in the process of collating the 2024 figures. We have written to all local authorities, reminding them of their obligation to submit their year-end data for 2024. As yet, we do not have all that data collated.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister of State said, the latest figures he has are for 2023. The new figures will arrive e shortly. As the Minister of State outlined, there are 1,913 derelict sites on the register. What is shocking is that only one in three have been levied. Thirteen local authorities applied no levy. Seventeen did not collect even one cent. In 2023, local authorities that applied the levies sought €5.6 million in payment of those levies. How much was collected? A total of €600,000. A total of €20.5 million is currently owed for the derelict sites levy. I talk to local authorities. Some do not want to engage with the system. The Minister of State was on the housing committee with me. I asked him what he was going to do. Here we are, years later, and land hoarders are laughing at us and at the people in the communities where they are these sites are lying idle.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, enforcement of the levy is a matter for local authorities. I see the carrot-and-stick approach having worked to pretty good effect in some local authorities. What I am talking about is the carrot of the likes of the repair and lease scheme, which has worked exceptionally well in my county of Waterford. About 50% of the national total of repair lease units have been delivered in Waterford, with one- and two-bed units in city centre and town centre areas not being used for social housing purposes. Of course, there is the stick of the derelict sites levy and, where required, compulsory purchase orders, CPOs. The collection of the levy is a byproduct, obviously, but I am sure what we both want is for those properties and lands to be brought back into productive use. They are a charge on that land or property, so there may be a time lag in collection. Where something is sold, it is a liability on that land and is collected by local authorities. We want to see collection happening but we also want to see these lands and properties activated.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Local authorities have a legal obligation to enforce the Derelict Sites Act. They are not doing it. Deputies Browne and Cummins are the Ministers responsible.

It is as simple as that. This is a legal obligation which local authorities have and which is not being enforced. Local authorities also tell me that they do not have the staff or resources to do this work.

In reply to a question I put to him, the previous Minister informed me that he had initiated a CPO activation programme but that no data was collected to see how successful it had been. In the context of derelict sites, in recent days the roof of a cottage in Ranelagh in Dublin collapsed. A total of €140,000 in levies is owed on that site alone. Why was that money not collected and why was there no enforcement? In Cork, Good Shepherd Convent burnt down a few weeks ago. That was the fourth major fire there. There have been a dozen or so other fires at the site. Someone could have been killed. The derelict sites levy is not being enforced. There are two buildings on Narrow West Street in Drogheda that are crumbling and that people are afraid to walk past. The levy is not being enforced.

David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Deputy. Deputy Burke has a supplementary question.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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One of the problems with derelict sites relates to title difficulties. Local authorities have a power to resolve this by using CPOs to assist developers. We do not seem to have been successful in getting local authorities to engage with people. If they did engage, I am of the view that many of the issues that obtain could be resolved.

The other issue that needs to be resolved in the constituency and Deputy Gould and I represent relates to Blackpool. Development cannot take place because the flood relief programme for which we identified a need 12 years ago is still sitting on someone's desk. The people who want to develop cannot get insurance for flood relief and have difficulty in borrowing money for their projects as a result.

These are two issues that the Department should be dealing with in conjunction with local authorities, namely assisting people to resolve title difficulties by using the CPO powers and going back to the developer to resolve the title issues and implementing the flood relief programme for Blackpool that was drawn up 12 years ago and that is still sitting on someone's desk, with nothing done about it.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies Gould and Burke. I was going to reference the CPO piece in my response. CPOs are a useful tool to be able to claim title, as Deputy Burke rightly pointed out. We have given significant resources to local authorities under call 3 of the URDF, specifically for a CPO programme. In the context of the local authorities I have visited so far, I have asked why they are not using the CPO process to the extent it should be used. Neither the Deputies nor I want to see properties lying vacant and idle. We want them brought back into productive use. The carrot-and-stick approach has worked for certain local authorities. Some authorities have been better than others in utilising the CPO process. It is important to say, however, that there is a charge and liability where a levy is applied. This is collected by local authorities. We want levies to be collected as early as possible. If a property is sold subsequently, the levy is a liability on it and will be collected at that point.