12 September 2024
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Property News
Cork County Council has established a Derelict Sites Register for the West Cork Municipal District, which had been the last area in the county without such a register. Any derelict site needs to be placed on the register before the council can start charging levies against property owners that have allowed their properties to fall into disrepair.
Isobel Towse, Councillor for Skibbereen – West Cork welcomed the news stating;
“This is an issue I identified during my local election campaign and one I have been working on since my election. I sincerely welcome the news that there are now 16 properties in West Cork registered, with 27 more given notice. However we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to dereliction in West Cork.”
“At our Municipal District meeting…[recently] I queried the Council on how and when the levies in West Cork will be collected. We know that Cork County Council has not had a good record on the collection of levies in the past with zero fees collected across the county in 2023 and €800k in uncollected vacant and derelict site levies at the end of 2022. This is money that could be ring fenced for renovation works.”
“I will work to ensure that the Council are actively working with property owners to tackle vacancy and dereliction. There must be a public campaign to communicate to property owners the severe need to address this issue and the benefits to all, to ensure smooth cooperation and rapid progress.”
Holly Cairns, TD for Cork South West and Leader of the Social Democrats, stated;
“Local authorities have been required by law since 1990 to maintain a public register of derelict sites in each district. Unfortunately the lack of action to date means that West Cork is behind the curve in regards to tackling vacancy and dereliction.
“We know from census figures that there is a long term vacancy rate of 4.1% in the Bantry-West Cork area, 3.5% in Skibbereen-West Cork, and 1.9% in Bandon-Kinsale. And we can all see the number of derelict properties in our towns, villages and rural areas
“Every week I meet people in West Cork who are on the brink of homelessness, who cannot get social housing, and who are being priced out of our community. There is absolutely no excuse for allowing property which could be used for housing to lie vacant and fall to pieces in the middle of the worst housing crisis the country has ever experienced.
“We need to bring these homes back onto the market. To do so we need to provide our county councils with the funding necessary to compulsory purchase and renovate derelict and vacant housing for social and affordable housing.
“There are 2312 houses in Cork County lying vacant for more than 11 years. The Social Democrats want to see the vacancy tax raised from the current 0.3% to 5% in order to send a clear message to property owners – rent it, use it, or sell it.”