Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Brian Brennan (FG), Wicklow-Wexford

My question is on dereliction and how we can get county councils to enforce current Government policies. Dereliction is a plague on most cities, towns and villages in Ireland. I commend the Government incentives to bring properties back into use such as the vacant property refurbishment grant, and the vacant above-the-shop initiative. Local authorities have the tools to deal with dereliction with the first step being simply to register derelict properties but I am simply astounded why some councils do not see fit to embrace these policies. If you look at the derelict site register today, there are 154 sites registered in Waterford and 367 sites registered in County Limerick and only four sites registered in the whole of County Wicklow. Why should hard-working businesses and communities in Carnew, Shillelagh and especially Arklow have to accept less dereliction enforcement than any other county in Ireland to the detriment of these town and villages?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17