Cork City Council wrote off €3.7m in derelict site levies over the past decade

Cork City Council has written off €3.7m in derelict site levies in the last decade relating to almost 100 sites, more than the amount that has been collected.

Since 2016 €11,993,755 in levies were invoiced across 651 sites. Of these, just 27%, or €3,253,281.80 has been paid, though payment rates have increased in recent years.

Almost the same amount that has been collected of the total invoiced has been written off, meaning that just under half, €5m, remains outstanding.

A total of €3,673,245.90 has been written off since 2016, relating to 99 sites, with 85 of these write offs occurring since 2022.

Niall O’Donnobhain, the council’s director of planning and integrated development, provided the data to Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins. He explained that levying sites does not in itself remove dereliction, and the council’s derelicts sites team also engage with owners, such as advising them of grants that may be availed of.

Engaging 

Of the total properties currently on the register, 87% of owners are engaging with the council or the property has been acquired by the authority. In the case of the remaining 13%, compulsory acquisition is being considered.

“Owners of derelict properties which make contact and undertake works in a prompt manner qualify for a write-off of forward-charged levies, provided works are completed in a timely manner,” said Mr O’Donnobhain.

“This is backdated to the point [when] meaningful works commenced, in recognition of the effort and related costs and to incentivise owners to speed up commencement of a return to use.

“Other actions likely to lead to a removal of dereliction, like seeking and obtaining planning permission; application and award of a vacant homes or other grant/tax incentive; and in some instances a commencement of a sale can be considered as activity towards a removal of dereliction.”

Of the total write-offs implemented since 2016, some 79% were due to dereliction being removed by the property owner or the property being acquired by the council.

Of the remainder, 8% were because a grant was given to owners to remove the dereliction, or because the property was later found to be occupied and levies not applicable, 5% were written off to assist a sale, and 8% were deemed “uncollectable”.

Increase

Mr O’Donnabhain added that in the last decade, there has been a 203% increase in the number of sites invoiced, a 1,533% increase in the value of invoices, and this year is the highest income year to date, with €925,016 in levies paid to council.

“Despite the complexity of addressing dereliction, nearly 600 properties in Cork city have been returned to use since 2023 — with half of those returned to use last year alone,” he said. “The number of properties returning to use has shifted from dozens to hundreds per year — increasing from 57 in 2023, to 231 in 2024, and to 301 last year.

“The figures show that grants and incentives, combined with increased engagement and enforcement from the city council’s derelict sites team, are yielding positive results.”

However, Mr Collins said: “Resolving dereliction should not be an excuse for not paying the levy.

“If an ordinary person gets a fine for parking illegally, this isn’t written off when they move their car to a legal space.

“The average write-off was almost €40,000. What person has ever received a €40,000 write-off on a penalty they were charged?”