Ray Butler (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also add my sympathies to the families of Jastine Valdez and Ana Kriegel. It is very sad to see a young girl going about her everyday business and to end up dying in such a brutal way.

I wish to speak today about vacant properties in town centres in rural areas. I would like to see tax reliefs such as we had during the Celtic tiger in order that people can do up their premises within a period of 12 months. Councils should be given new powers in order that developers who bought premises in disrepair would be made to fix them up within a certain timeframe or councils could serve compulsory purchase orders.In my constituency of Meath West, there are buildings in Athboy, Kells, Navan and Trim which have been left in a terrible state with no regard to health and safety. Roofs are ready to fall in and slates are being blown off on windy days. Walls are ready to collapse on pedestrians. Tidy Towns groups try to clean up and do their best for competitions, but these premises are left to go to rack and ruin. The local authority has erected barriers around some of these premises which means people cannot use the footpaths. In Athboy, there is a bus stop right beside one of these premises and people have some job to board their buses. Pedestrians have to step out onto the road to pass these premises.

We need legislation to address this problem. I call for the Minister to come to the House to discuss that legislation. I am not on a witch hunt here and I do not seek to belittle any owner of any premises, but it is unfair to others in the community when someone leaves premises in a terrible state. I would like to see action taken and certain premises in rural Ireland tidied up.