Vacant Properties
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

I appreciate the response, but from what the Minister of State has outlined, if we are talking about CPO, would the Government provide the support to Galway County Council for what is presumably a very expensive building to be able to acquire that and, at a minimum, make the site safe? The planning permission on this has lapsed. The developers have no intention of redeveloping this hotel. It has been left in a derelict state for 15 years. It is an eyesore and a safety hazard. Young children are going in and out. Somebody has to take responsibility for this. It cannot be allowed to continue. I have raised this a number of times in this Chamber. It is not a new issue. I have raised it with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance. Government is well aware of this issue and the impact it is having on the town of Portumna. I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is and the risk of somebody getting hurt or losing their life. I do not want to hear more excuses or more kicking the can down the road. It is a problem that is not being addressed. I want to know what the Minister if State is going to do now to ensure that the owners of this property are actually held accountable and that the building is at the very least made safe. To go back to my earlier question in terms of the hoarding around the building, does that mean this site automatically cannot be on the derelict sites register because there is not hoarding around the building? There is hoarding around the building. I ask the Minister of State to clarify that. The owners of the hotel - the Comer brothers - are very wealthy people. They could redevelop the site. At the very minimum, they could take action to make it safe. They can afford it. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Therefore, the issue here is one of accountability. Is the Government going to take action and hold them accountable for leaving this site in a dangerous and derelict condition for the last 15 years? Will the Government give a commitment that it will support the local authority to CPO the property, if necessary, and make the site safe again?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22