Cork councillor in call for for Revenue to collect derelict site levy

A city councillor has called for the Revenue Commissioners to be empowered to collect the derelict site levy, after councils across the country last year failed to collect €20m in fines. Cork City Council is owed €5m.

Almost €1.9m was collected by local authorities last year, but €20.4m remained uncollected across all 32 local authorities, according to the Department of Housing in May.

Under the Derelict Sites Act of 1990, local authorities must collect a charge of 7% of the value of a derelict property each year that it remains derelict.

Cork City Council had a total of €4.9m outstanding in uncollected fines last year, according to figures provided to Sinn Féin TD for Cork City North Central Thomas Gould.

Register

Cork County Council did not have any uncollected levies, but the county authority had not issued any levies last year, despite 52 derelict properties remaining on its register at the end of 2023.

Labour Party city councillor John Maher has called for the Revenue Commissioners to collect the derelict-site levy, noting that “local authorities have not done a good job” in doing so.

“It is unacceptable that over €20m in levies from derelict sites remain uncollected, while communities in Cork City and beyond suffer from the blight of abandoned and dangerous buildings...Labour is urging Government to empower the Revenue to collect these monies and address the housing crisis head-on,” Mr Maher said.

Impact

He said that in his own local electoral area of Cork City North East, the detrimental impact of derelict sites was obvious every day.

“In Dillon’s Cross, a once vibrant village is destroyed with dereliction. Derelict buildings are not only eyesores, but also safety hazards and missed opportunities for development.”

Mr Maher said a comprehensive plan to tackle dereliction was needed.

“Empowering Revenue to collect the derelict-sites levy is a crucial step towards solving the housing crisis and restoring vibrancy to our urban centres,” he said.