After years of inertia, Dublin City Council moves to sell off its most troubled derelict sites
Dublin City Council (DCC) has thrown in the towel on developing some of its most challenging derelict sites, and is progressing with plans to sell them off instead.
The authority’s catalogue of undeveloped vacant and derelict sites - which currently sits at 32 properties - has continued to decay due to funding and resource constraints.
During DCC’s housing committee meeting on Monday, councillors and council staff united to push for the sale of a large chunk of these.
This includes 142 and 144 Harold’s Cross Road, which has languished on DCC’s derelict sites register for almost two decades - the longest-standing property on the list.
The council acquired the site from the Department of Public Expenditure (DEPR) eight years ago, but development never got off the ground and the structures crumbled.
A recent report found that their structural conditions are “significantly worse than originally anticipated.”
Number 144 collapsed in April 2025, while 142 now requires propping and bracing to maintain safety for members of the public passing on the footpath.
Under the agreement with DEPR, the site must be used for social housing, with DCC warning that a breach of this condition could result in “legal, reputational and stakeholder risks”.
Chapelizod’s Mulberry Cottages, seven of which have been owned by the council since 2019, also feature on the list of properties it has decided to sell.
The homes have proven extremely challenging to redevelop due to the fact that they are located in a housing terrace which is part-privately owned.
DCC notes that the homes are now in “extremely poor structural condition, with widespread rot, water damage, deteriorated roofs, failing floors, defective walls and significant disrepair”.
Speaking at the meeting, DCC senior engineer Robert Buckle said the cottages would be “exorbitant” to refurbish, and the ownership structure of the terrace complicates matters further.
“For any kind of feasible work to be done on these, in my opinion, the four remaining properties should be bought and the whole thing should be flattened,” he said.
Councillors agreed to the sale of the seven cottages.
Council executives had also hoped to get councillor approval for selling off long-derelict 19 and 21 Connaught Street in Phibsborough, but elected members chose to “pause” this process following a request from independent councillor Cieran Perry.
He said he had been holding discussions with Bohemian Football Club about turning the buildings into a community facility, and sought a pause on the sale while those unfolded.
Councillors supported a delay until October 31 to allow discussions to continue, but Mr Buckle cautioned that local residents were “at the end of their tether” with the lack of action on the redbrick homes.
The sites approved for sale will now go to full council for approval, while the fate of 19 and 21 Connaught Street is set to be discussed at the next housing meeting in November.
Properties flagged for sale will enter DCC’s ‘waterfall’ framework, whereby they are first offered to the Land Development Authority and approved housing bodies.
If those bodies are unable to develop them, they will be sold to a private buyer with conditions attached that refurbishment begins within a specified time frame.