‘We have neglected derelict sites for far too long in this county’ – Councillors push for new powers to tackle dereliction
Mayo County Council has proposed a motion calling on the Government to explore implementing legislation that would allow local authorities to issue Compulsory Sale Orders (CSOs) on vacant and derelict properties.
The county continues to face a significant dereliction problem, with 287 sites listed on the derelict sites register at the end of 2025. While these properties are subject to a derelict site levy aimed at encouraging redevelopment, just 7pc of that levy was collected in Mayo.
Before imposing the levy, councils attempt to engage with property owners. Where owners cannot be identified or refuse to engage, local authorities can acquire properties through Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs).
However, the CPO process is costly, and funding comes from a number of sources, including the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, the Social Housing Investment Programme, and the Housing Finance Agency.
In Mayo, just 16 CPOs have been completed in the last two years.
The proposed CSO motion was brought forward in response to the low number of CPOs carried out, the high costs involved, and the poor level of levy collection.
The motion was tabled by Cllr Jarlath Munnelly, who said a CSO would operate “in a similar manner” to a CPO, and noted it would be a more cost-effective solution for the council to tackle dereliction.
“If the local authority deems that a property is vacant or derelict, the issuing of this order would compel the property owner to put the property on the open market for sale,” he explained.
Cllr Munnelly said that in cases where the owner can’t be identified, the council would be given the means to facilitate the sale.
He added that granting this legislative power would help local authorities to address vacancy and dereliction, increase housing supply, and help to enhance towns and villages across Mayo.
“The past, by any objective measure, is bad. There is no point in saying otherwise. We have neglected derelict sites for far too long in this county,” he said.
“There is a housing crisis, and in this county, the fact that we have buildings and houses that are vacant for ten, twenty, thirty years - it’s a sin,” he said.
He called on the Government to provide legislation giving local authorities an “extra tool” to help them tackle dereliction and combat the housing crisis.
“We have a responsibility to go hard on these things at the same time, my motion reflects that the council can’t buy everything, we can’t CPO every vacant building,” he said, noting the high cost of the CPO process and the reliance on Government funding to be able to carry them out.
The idea behind the proposal is that properties listed on the open market can be bought by individuals who want to regenerate them and bring them back into use, rather than leaving them in the ownership of people who seem to have little interest in redevelopment.
Cllr Michael Burke highlighted that some properties are relatively easy to deal with in terms of redevelopment and bringing them back into use, other buildings - like some in his area of Ballinrobe - he described as a “huge project” for someone to take on.
“We have the perfect example in Ballinrobe on Bridge Street, which is one of the worst streets, where you have three-story buildings. They are a huge project for any individual to take on. Because of the conditions and regulations attached to them, it is colossal,” he said.
In response, Cllr Harry Barrett proposed an amendment to the motion, saying he was “not happy at all” with progress on derelict sites in the county.
“This system we have in place here isn’t working,” he said, adding his support for Cllr Munnelly’s proposal.
Cllr Barrett called on Housing Minister James Browne to introduce tax breaks on the purchasers of derelict and vacant properties to “make it make sense to develop and buy the property”.
“A substantial tax break,” he added, saying this would address Cllr Burke’s concerns around the scale and cost of larger redevelopment projects on individuals.
“We give a substantial tax break to the young couple who purchase the property, and I guarantee you we will have a rapid uptake of these properties. The last thing we want are properties going for sale, and people are scared to take them on as a project,” he said.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.