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BOARDED-UP HOUSES AND crumbling buildings are a common feature of towns and cities across Ireland.
Derelict buildings contribute significantly to Ireland’s housing crisis, and bringing them back into use is one of the government’s strategies for addressing social housing shortfalls and getting more homes on the market.
Last month, the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process was used via An Coimisiún Pleanála for 20 properties – by far the highest number since The Journal began keeping track in this series more than a year ago.
Under laws introduced in 1990, every local council keeps a Derelict Sites Register to encourage owners to bring vacant houses and land into use through the imposition of an annual levy of 7% of the property’s market value, which applies until the site is no longer derelict.
When someone objects to a local authority’s attempt to obtain a property via the CPO process, the council can apply to An Coimisiún Pleanála to do so.
The Housing Act also allows local authorities to acquire vacant homes via CPO, which they must also apply to do via the commission.
The process is similar to making a standard planning application, and the board weighs up submissions from the council and the owner of the land before deciding whether a site can be subject to a CPO.
The number of properties that councils try to CPO via the commission every month is usually relatively small.
It is worth noting, however, that Ireland’s councils successfully CPO other properties without having to go to the commission, which helps bring derelict properties back into use.
The Journal reported in March that local authorities acquired a total of 99 properties via Compulsory Purchase Orders last year.
We have also been keeping track of the vacant and derelict properties that councils have applied to the commission to acquire via CPO since April last year.
This list shows the total number of applications made to An Coimisiún Pleanála by councils to CPO derelict properties since our series began in 2025:
In total, three councils applied to the commission in June to CPO 20 properties between them.
Of these, 12 properties were based in Clare alone, with the applications part of renewed efforts by the county’s local authority to bring long-term derelict properties back into use.
The council announced in April that it is stepping up efforts to intensify this process, and that it had commenced the CPO process in respect of 20 derelict sites.
It has recently created a specialised housing activation unit within the council and plans to amend of the county development plan so that more land can be designated for residential development.
Local newspaper The Clare Echo reported the locations of the 20 properties in May, and of those, the CPO process has been appealed to the commission in respect of 12 of those sites by their owners.
Limerick City and County Council also applied for consent to CPO six properties last month, while Waterford City and County Council applied to purchase two properties.
Information varies about the 12 properties that were the subject of CPO applications by Clare County Council last month.
Unlike most other local authorities, the council does not keep an online version of its derelict sites register – it can only be viewed in person.
This makes it difficult to find specific sites or information about them, particularly as the applications to An Coimisiún Pleanála are often vaguely worded.
Because of this and the high number of properties subject to CPO applications in Clare this month, we have not listed these properties in individual entries, as is normally the case in this series.
Instead, they are all listed here with details and images included where possible.
Three properties in Kilrush were the subject of CPO applications during the month.
The first is located at the corner of Erin Street and O’Connell Street in Kilrush; the application was submitted on 2 June and the case is due to be decided by the commission by 26 October.
The second property is located at 27 Moore Street in Kilrush; the application for consent to CPO this property was also made on 2 June and is likewise due to be decided by 26 October.
The third property subject to a CPO application in the town last month was the former Inis Cathaigh Hotel on Frances Street in Kilrush, which the council applied for consent to buy on 18 June.
The historic property, which was built in the 1790s, was listed on the market as recently as 2024, and functioned as a nightclub and venue before closing more than two decades ago.
It was derelict for years and in 2008, it was reported that the council wanted to buy the site to redevelop it into new civic offices.
The site remained derelict for years after that before it was badly damaged in a fire in 2019.
It is not clear who currently owns the property, and the council’s application is due to be decided by 10 November.
The council also applied to CPO properties based in other parts of the county last month.
On 8 June, an application was submitted for consent to CPO a property located in the Glensheen estate off the Gort Road near Ennis.
The two-storey semi-detached house has been on the council’s derelict sites register for a number of years, and was previously the subject of a failed attempt to CPO it in 2024.
In a report at the time, an inspector noted that the council claimed the property had been vacant for up to 17 years, though this was questioned in the report.
It also said that the council had received an objection from the property’s owners that the site was not derelict, as relatives had carried out an extensive clean-up and that a relative had been asked to maintain the upkeep of the house.
The inspector wrote in the report that the building was in “sound condition”, and that this was one of the factors in its decision to refuse the council permission to CPO it.
The latest case involving the property is due to be decided by 2 November.
On 11 June, Clare County Council sought consent to CPO another derelict site located at O’Shea’s Acres in Broadford, with the case due to be decided by 3 November.
The council also applied on 15 June for consent to CPO a derelict site at Dock Road in Tuamgraney, a townland where dozens of new houses were given planning permission earlier this year. The case is due to be decided by 9 November.
On the same date, the council applied for consent to CPO a derelict site at Donoughbouy, just outside the town of Kilkee. The case is due to be decided by 16 November.
Two days later, the council submitted another application seeking consent to CPO an unidentified property based on Main Street in O’Briensbridge, a town located next to the River Shannon. The case is due to be decided by 10 November.
On 18 June, the council applied for consent to CPO a terraced property at 19 New Road in Ennistymon, in a case due to be decided by 24 November.
The following day, an application was submitted for consent to CPO a derelict site at Clonamirran near Mountshannon. The case is due to be decided by 16 November.
On 20 June, the local authority applied for consent to CPO a property on West Street in Carrigaholt, with the case due to be decided by 17 November.
Clare County Council also applied to the commission for consent to CPO the former post office in the village of Ruan on 23 June. The case is due to be decided by 17 November.
Two other councils also applied to the commission for consent to CPO properties last month, including Limerick City and County Council.
On 19 June, the local authority applied to CPO a former dance hall based in Gortboy in Newcastle West.
The hall has been listed on the council’s derelict sites register since June 2022, and is valued at around €100,000 by the local authority. However, there is no further information available about it online.
The case is due to be decided by 16 November.
Also on 19 June, Limerick City and County Council sought consent to CPO a two-storey house known as The Bridge in Ballingarry.
The house and its adjoining site have been on the council’s derelict sites register since April 2025, and is valued at €80,000.
It was listed on the property market a number of times since 2024, with a guide price of €130,000 each time, but never appears to have been sold.
The site also has full planning permission for three terraced houses, which was granted in 2023, though it has not yet been redeveloped.
The case is due to be decided by 16 November.
Limerick City and County Council also sought consent on 19 June to CPO a derelict house known as O’Donoghue’s Farmhouse in Rathurd at Ballysheedy East.
The detached two-storey house was placed on the local authority’s derelict sites register in June 2022, and is valued at €130,000.
The council previously sought to CPO the site in 2o24, but consent was rejected by the commission because it was felt the owner – who lived in the UK – should be given more time to continue their efforts to bring the property back into use.
A report by the commission noted that the owner had engaged the services of an architect and builder, and that they were in the process of applying for finance and the vacant property grant at the time.
It also said that a new roof had recently been installed on the property, and that other works had commenced at the property.
The latest attempt by the council to obtain consent to CPO the site is due to be decided by 17 November.
On the same day, Limerick City and County Council also applied for consent to CPO a derelict property located on O’Curry Street in the city.
The council has actually listed two different sites on O’Curry Street on the derelict sites register, and recently announced its intention to CPO both of these.
It is therefore unclear which of the properties – which are both valued at €80,000 – is the subject of the application to the commission.
The case is due to be decided by 17 November.
Limerick City and County Council also applied on 19 June for consent to CPO a two-storey property at Herbertstown.
The house has been on the council’s derelict sites register since January 2023 and is valued at €80,000, though there is no specific Eircode given for the property so it’s not known exactly where in the area it is located.
The case is due to be decided by 17 November.
On 19 June, Limerick City and County Council applied for consent from the commission to CPO two adjoining derelict properties in the townland of Old Pallas.
The relevant site has been listed on the council’s derelict sites register since February 2022, and the local authority values it at €70,000. Again, no specific Eircode was given for the property, so it is unclear where in the townland it’s located.
The case is due to be decided by 17 November.
Waterford City and County Council also sought consent to CPO two adjoining properties last month, both of which are located on Barrack Street in Tallow.
Both applications were submitted to the commission on 24 June, after initial CPO orders were made by the council in April.
The council has not put a value on either property on its derelict sites register, though it does say it has corresponded with their owners a number of times since 2024.
Maps published by the council suggest that both properties is currently in probate, with the estates of two deceased people listed as the owners in both cases.
Both cases are due to be decided by the commission by 1 October.
A second application was submitted on the same date
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