Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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616. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of derelict properties in Meath in the years 2019 to 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3181/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department continues to liaise with local authorities, including Meath County Council, on the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act).

Under the Act, local authorities are required to maintain a derelict sites register, which includes the name and address of each owner and occupier, where these can be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, of any land which, in the opinion of the local authority, is a derelict site. Section 8(5) of the Act, provides that "The register shall be kept at the offices of the local authority and shall be available for inspection at the offices of the local authority during office hours." There is no legislative requirement for local authorities to publish their Derelict Sites Registers on their website.

A property can be placed on the derelict site register where it is deemed by a local authority to satisfy the criteria of a derelict site under the terms of section 3 of the Act i.e. (i) it is in a dangerous or ruinous condition; (ii) it is in a neglected or unsightly condition; or (iii) there is a presence of litter, waste or debris on the site. It is not the case that a property can be placed on the derelict site register of a local authority simply by being a vacant property.

Local Authorities are required to submit an annual return to my Department providing information on the operation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in their functional areas. The derelict sites returns are collected in Quarter 2 of the following year. For the years 2019 to 2023 the information form Meath County Council are in tabular form below. Further details of Meath County Council’s Derelict Site register are available here: www.meath.ie/council/council-services/environment/derelict-sites-and-dangerous-structures/derelict-sites

It is also worth noting that placing sites on the derelict sites register, and collecting levies in respect of those sites, is not the sole mechanism that local authorities apply in relation to bringing sites back into use. They often engage collaboratively with property owners with a view to necessary works being undertaken to bring sites back into use while also occasionally using their powers under the Act to compulsorily acquire derelict sites.

In relation to derelict homes in particular, my Department is funding a full-time Vacant Homes Officer in Meath County Council to support the bringing back of previously occupied homes into residential use. The Vacant Home Refurbishment Grant (VHRG) also provides grants of up to €70,000 to eligible properties that are derelict in order to undertake required refurbishment works and make them suitable for residential use once again.