‘Really disappointing’ – Dublin City Council pauses purchases of derelict properties in city
Dublin City Council (DCC) has indefinitely paused the purchase of derelict sites in the city – known as compulsorily purchasing them – as it continues to sit on a sizeable portfolio of derelict buildings.
For at least the past six months, the authority has not progressed any compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for derelict buildings, pointing to resource and funding constraints.
CPOs occur when the council demands that the owner of a derelict site address its dilapidation but no progress is made, forcing it to acquire the plot.
“CPOs are one of the strengthened weapons that we have in our armoury,” Independent councillor Cieran Perry said at a recent council meeting.
“We do know that it frightens people, the threat of CPO, plus it’s an opportunity to take some buildings back into public control, so it’s really, really disappointing to see that the housing department has now paused any more CPOs.”
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Perry said compulsory purchases were an “arduous” process, but “very, very effective” in addressing dereliction.
“I can’t believe they paused CPOs at a time when dereliction is literally top of the agenda, with the Taoiseach’s taskforce, with the setting up of the [DCC] Special Purpose Vehicle,” he said.
“It’s acknowledged at the very top of Government that dereliction is an issue and yet DCC has made a decision to pause CPOs.”
He said the Government’s “failed” housing policy means DCC is facing “unbelievable pressure” to target large-scale housing over refurbishing derelict sites.
“So, there’s been a decision made at the highest level of city council to prioritise mass builds … I don’t believe it should be either or. I believe it should be both,” he said.
A Department of Housing spokesperson said councils can fund CPOs through Urban Regeneration and Development Funding (URDF), the Social Housing Investment Programme and the Housing Finance Agency. They said €10m of URDF funds had been made available to DCC to address vacant and derelict properties, of which almost €9m remained.
“They may also use Derelict Sites Levies that they have collected, or may establish their own revolving fund to support this work,” the spokesperson said.
We are left with a lot of these dilapidated buildings and we have to do something
Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said the CPO pause was down to the council’s portfolio of dilapidated properties it cannot afford to refurbish.
Council staff have conceded that the scale of the portfolio, understood to be made up of at least 40 sites, is an embarrassment to the authority.
The two rotting redbrick homes at 19 and 21 Connaught Street in Phibsborough, in council ownership since 2019, are the latest examples to draw headlines.
“At this current moment in time, we are left with a lot of these dilapidated buildings, and we have to do something about that,” Mr Jose said.
“That’s going to be painful in the short term, but that’s the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.”
He said the changeover in housing ministers last year brought about a shift in attitude towards dereliction.
“Buy and renew of vacant or derelict properties in the city centre, I was told that the sign from the Department of Housing was that’s not a priority,” he said.
While he supports the use of CPOs in severe cases, he said enforcement needs a significant boost so buildings do not get into a derelict state in the first place.
Improving enforcement is a key element of DCC’s recent dereliction strategy overhaul, arising out of a council working group on urban regeneration that reported last year.
Among its recommendations was increased staffing for the derelict sites unit, made up of only three people at the time.
In an early sign of the group’s success, that figure has now doubled.
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Social Democrats councillor Cian Farrell, who chaired the group, said its new “waterfall” dereliction framework would probably need to be proven before the moratorium on CPOs is lifted.
Under the framework, DCC assesses whether it has the funds and staffing required to convert its derelict buildings into usable properties.
If the council cannot resource this, sites will be sold to the Land Development Agency, an approved housing body or a private developer, with covenants attached that they be rejuvenated within a specified timeframe.
Mr Farrell described it as “an immune system” for the city that turns derelict eyesores into vibrant spaces.
“Once we can see properties going out the other side in a fair, effective way and are brought back into use, then we can look at that CPO piece in the coming months,” he said.
DCC said several of its long-derelict Mulberry Cottages in Chapelizod will be the first to go through the new process, and is planning to put them up for sale in the coming weeks.
The council did not respond to a request for comment.