Vacant Properties
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-11
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Mattie McGrath (IND), Tipperary South

There is no rationale. That is why the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, is not here to take my Topical Issue. I handed a file to the Minister six to eight weeks ago in this regard.
First, I thank Liam Campion, his wife and family. They are builders and providers who are building apartments - six-storey blocks - in this city today, as well as in Cork city. They have been building for nearly 50 years. They built what is known as the Twin Towers estate in Cashel, which is a fine, noble housing estate. These houses are not semi-derelict. I wanted to ask the Minister – I thought I would meet him today but I will meet him later – or the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to visit these houses. The site is located five minutes off the main N8.
These houses are suitable for any type of building. They are solid structures. They are the best I have seen in a long time, and I have some experience in the game. They have mass concrete walls, ducting for all the wires, plumbing and everything else. Some 50 submissions have gone in under the Part 8 but the Part 8 has been turned on its head because when I visited the site last Monday with the owner, we met people there who were from a demolition company. When asked why they were there, they explained they were there as a result of an etender that was out two weeks before the Part 8 process closed. The tender was put out by Tipperary County Council. There is an indecent haste to demolish these houses.
The council is ahead of its targets and while I support the council staff, I do not support senior management and what they are doing here. I attended a meeting with the CEO some time ago but I was told at the meeting she was unable to attend. I could not get answers from any of the directors. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this regard.
The Minister of State told me that these houses were built with planning. They were built with full planning, alongside planning for a 120-bed hotel. Many estates around the country were built likewise, with both hotels and accommodation. Many have been transformed and turned into accommodation. Anything could be done with them, from social housing, which we so badly need, to a health facility. We need a 60-bed health facility in Cashel. The Minister of State knows that. We cannot get a site for it, however. This is an ideal site. A site at Palmershill is being looked at but it is much more inaccessible. This site, however, has a roadway and all developed into it. The site and the houses are as solid as the Rock of Cashel. It is a crying shame and an insanity to demolish these houses and dispose of all this. It will cause that carbon footprint and leave the site scarred because the foundations and the base will not be removed.
It is said that this is being done for the Rock of Cashel. Is a view more important than houses for families in Ireland? It seems that with this Government, the views and anything are more important. This is insanity. The definition of insanity, according to Einstein, is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Please halt this. Pause this demolition and re-evaluate it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-11