‘Something is seriously wrong in Mayo’ – Council Executive urged to follow Limerick’s example on dereliction
Mayo County Council has been urged to establish a dedicated dereliction team, similar to that of Limerick City and County Council, amid mounting frustration over vacant and crumbling buildings across the county and the poor collection rate of derelict site levies.
At the end of 2025, there were 287 properties on the derelict sites register in Mayo, with 140 levies issued.
However, just 7pc of the levy was collected in 2024, a figure that caused concern among councillors as they continue to battle the housing crisis.
The issue was debated at the latest meeting of Mayo County Council, where dereliction was described as a “scourge” on the county’s towns and villages.
While action is underway, including a regeneration project in Castlebar that will deliver 24 housing units from vacant and derelict properties, and a similar scheme in Ballinrobe, which will create 14 units, councillors said progress is far too slow.
Dereliction is currently addressed through multiple sections within the council, including the environment department, municipal district engineers and technicians, the central housing office, and the town and regeneration officer.
There is also an interdepartmental derelict sites group, made up of senior staff from across these areas.
However, councillors have argued that the responsibility for tackling dereliction is too fragmented.
Cllr Peter Flynn proposed the establishment of a dedicated, multidisciplinary dereliction team, pointing to the success of a similar approach in Limerick.
Referring to a Housing Agency report, Cllr Flynn noted that Limerick City and County Council set up a specialist team in 2017 to address dereliction under the Derelict Sites Act 1990.
Between 2019 and 2024, Limerick served 2,772 notices under the Act, proposed 300 properties for compulsory acquisition and vested 206 of those into council ownership.
Of those, 37 were purchased for social housing, 13 retained for community and tourism use, and 24 sold on the open market and refurbished by new owners.
“It shows what can be done if we have the right structures in place and we have the right people in situ,” Cllr Flynn said.
By contrast, he told the meeting that Mayo County Council completed 19 compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) between 2014 and 2024, with 14 of those carried out last year.
“Something is seriously wrong in Mayo when you compare it to what Limerick has achieved,” he added.
Cllr Flynn outlined three proposals to improve Mayo’s performance. First, he called for the creation of a dedicated multidisciplinary dereliction team, similar to Limerick’s model.
“At the moment you have environment, the municipal districts, central housing, and architects involved - there is no one department responsible for it,” he said.
Secondly, he proposed that the council’s Vacant Homes Officer should attend council meetings to provide updates and work directly with councillors to identify solutions.
Thirdly, he highlighted the need for staff training, noting the recent loss of a number of experienced housing staff within the council who were familiar with the CPO process.
He asked that an update on his proposals be added to the April meeting agenda.
“We cannot keep talking about it - we need to see action,” he said, calling on the chief executive and directors of service to move progress forward.
Cllr Damien Ryan seconded the proposal: “We have to become proactive, and the best way to do that is a self-contained unit dealing with derelict sites - not across a number of sections as it currently is.”
Cllr Marie Therese Duffy also backed the proposals and described the growing impact of the dereliction crisis in Ballina.
“In relation to both residential and commercial properties, numerous people have contacted me regarding the negative impact derelict properties are having on their own homes,
“Residents are talking about damp, mould, and rodents due to the derelict properties they are living next to. This is something I am constantly contacted about, and we need to see strong action on this,” she said.
Cllr Harry Barrett added that the only way to address the “scourge” of dereliction in Mayo’s towns and villages was through a dedicated team of trained professionals working on the issue full-time.
This is not the first time that the idea of establishing a dedicated dereliction team has been raised.
At a recent meeting of the Housing SPC, the Director of Services for Housing, Tom Gilligan, said he supported the idea.
“I would be in favour of setting up a stand-alone unit that has the clout and the authority to go after people,” Mr Gilligan said, suggesting Mayo could follow the example of Limerick and Waterford.
Chief Executive Kevin Kelly responded to Cllr Flynn, stating that significant funding is required for CPOs and reminding councillors that dereliction work is resource-intensive.
He suggested funding to help support the proposals could be generated through tax increases.
“A good first step would be to commit in our next budget to increase rates by 2.5pc to generate €1.15m and to increase the Local Property Tax by 2.5pc to generate €253k,” he said.
Mr Kelly added that the €1.4m raised would fund the proposed team.
Cllr Flynn rejected the idea and recalled how former town councils borrowed money to carry out CPOs and refurbish properties to then sell them on the open market - during the more challenging economic times of the early 2000s
He stressed that his proposal did not involve hiring new staff but instead reorganising existing roles.
Cllr Michael Loftus criticised the suggestion of raising rates and local property tax, saying that it was “akin to putting a levy on people who have built houses with defective concrete blocks”.
“It’s unfair to say something like that as it is punishing people,” he said, adding there are other ways to find money that don’t include taxing Mayo’s residents.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.