Efforts to reduce dereliction on Leeside working?

The number of sites returned to use from dereliction increased by 428% between 2023 and 2025, according to figures released by Cork City Council.

In 2023, 57 properties that were derelict were returned to use. In 2025, that number had increased to 301.

Director of Services for Planning and Integrated Development Niall O’Donnabhain said the increase showed that “grants and incentives, combined with increased engagement and enforcement from the City Council’s Derelict Sites Team, are yielding positive results”.

He said this is being felt in the form of reduced dereliction, increased vibrancy on city streets and new homes in the suburbs.

At time of publication there were 200 sites registered on the Derelict Sites Register. Only one site has been entered in 2026, the cottages at 1-6 Woodlea in Glanmire.

Efforts by Cork City Council to address dereliction have been increasing in scale for a number of years.

Since 2016, the number of invoices issued for derelict site levies has increased by 203%, from 31 to 94.

Legislation requires that the owners of sites which have been placed on the Derelict Sites Register be issued with annual levies at 7% the annual market value of the property.

This year will see the largest amount collected on these levies, with receipts worth €925,016 issued as of March. However, the amount invoiced will not be revealed until 2027.

The next highest year was 2021, where €570,143.73 worth of receipts were issued, a 62% increase.

However, the amounts collected are significantly less than that of the invoices issued.

Last year for instance, invoices worth €2,144,376 were issued, but just €406,182 - 19% - was collected. Outstanding levies since 2016 amount to €6,054,929.30.

The majority of levies last year - €1,285,858.19 - were written-off.

Levies can be written-off for a number of reasons, usually because the owner of the property has been constructively engaging with the council, and has taken steps to remove dereliction from the property.

However, O’Donnabhain stressed that a property was not finally removed from the Derelict Sites Register until dereliction had been completely removed.

The council has written-off levies on 99 sites since 2016.

The value of write-offs has increased since 2016 - where just €9,300 was written-off across two sites - but it has fluctuated in recent years. A higher value of write-offs also does not necessarily mean work is being done on a greater number of properties.

The greatest amount was last year, where €1,285,858.19 was written off 22 sites, while the next highest was in 2022, where €1,269,625.95 was written off 19 sites.

However, in 2024, which saw the highest number of write-off in the last ten years - 26 sites - the value of write-offs was just €599,585.61.

Write-offs are not always a popular move.

Sinn Féin Cllr Ken Collins said resolving dereliction should not be an excuse for not paying levies.

“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 same standard should be applied to those leaving homes and buildings to rot in our city.

“The average write-off was almost €40,000. What person has ever received a €40,000 write off on a penalty they were charged? The excuses used by Cork City Council to explain this are completely unacceptable.

“I do not believe that it is ever acceptable to waive thousands owed when these sites do real harm to our communities,” he said.

This year, the Finance Act 2026 will transfer the responsibility of collecting the levies to the Revenue Commissioners. The move will come into effect in this year’s budget in October.

Of the write-offs made since 2016, the majority - 79% - were made because dereliction had been removed or the council had acquired the property.

A further 8% were written-off because the house had either availed of a vacant property refurbishment grant, the levies were written-off by the Valuation Tribunal, or the property was deemed to be occupied (and therefore not eligible for levies).

Another 5% were written-off to assist in the sale or redevelopment of a site or property.

Only 8% of levies have been deemed uncollectable since 2016.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.