Written answers
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Derelict Sites
Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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618. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount that has been recouped for the State through the derelict site levy since its introduction to date; whether this levy will remain in place until it is replaced by the newly announced derelict property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55173/25]
John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Derelict Sites Act 1990 imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site as defined in the legislation. The Act also 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, a derelict site.
Each local authority maintains a Derelict Sites Register under section 8 of the Act for sites which they consider are derelict under the Act. 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.
All 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 table below shows the levies recouped since 2019 by Local Authorities each year since 2019, up to the 31st December 2023.
| Total Amount received in respect of levies in 2019 | Total Amount received in respect of levies in 2020 | Total Amount received in respect of levies in 2021 | Total Amount received in respect of levies in 2022 | Total Amount received in respect of levies in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €410,038 | €378,763 | €1,097,018 | €1,123,294 | €1,889,468 |
A Derelict Property Tax was announced in Budget 2026 and it is intended to introduce legislation providing for the tax in 2026. This tax will, when it comes into effect, replace the Derelict Sites Levy and will be collected by the Revenue Commissioners. Updating and maintaining their Derelict Sites/Property Registers will continue to remain the responsibility of local authorities, and levies that remain outstanding when the new tax is introduced will remain as charges on the land and will be the responsibility of each local authority to collect.
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