Sinn Féin has accused the owners of derelict properties of committing a “sin” by leaving them empty during a housing crisis. 

In 1990, Charles Haughey’s Fianna Fáil Government passed the Derelict Sites Act, which mandated local authorities keep a register of derelict property in their area. 

Anyone who owns a derelict property must pay an annual levy to the local authority, amounting to 7% of the property’s value. 

However, many local authorities make no or little effort to collect the tax.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Urban Regeneration Thomas Gould said the legislation has “never been fully enacted,” due to a lack of resources to ensure compliance.  

“I’ve got a number of these on the derelict sites register in Cork,” he said. 

“One man came up to me, kind of half giving out that I put his property on the site. 

“You know what he did last year? He turned it into a three bedroom and a two bedroom apartment. 

“So, by me getting Cork City Council to put the levy on this landlord, that gave him the incentive to [do something], so now we have two families housed.” 

A derelict house in a rural area with a 'For Sale' sign. Picture by: Stephen Barnes/Business / Alamy Stock Photo

The Cork TD continued that there are far too many derelict houses ‘blighting’ Ireland. 

“It’s an absolute sin,” he said. 

“We’re in the middle of a housing crisis and we have thousands of houses and sites left idle.

“What we want to do is give the local authorities the staffing the resources to work with these people who own these properties, to turn them into housing, cost rentals, private housing.” 

“We’re not pushed what it’s turned into, once it’s turned into housing. We want to work with them.” 

Deputy Gould added that the Irish Government should increase the derelict sites levy, which would incentivise landlords to either sell or renovate their property. 

“If you’re a speculator and you’re after buying up large slots of Dublin or Cork, by you not doing anything, the value of your property is going up every year,” he said. 

“Even with the 7%, it’s still not enough of a stick.”

Main image: Thomas Gould and a derelict house. Pictures by: Rolling News and Alamy.com.