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 just one property, located in Co Waterford.

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 make an application to An Coimisiún Pleanála to do so.

The Housing Act also allows local authorities to acquire vacant homes via CPO, which they also must apply to do via the commission.

The process is similar to making a 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 relatively small.

The Journal has been keeping track of the vacant and derelict properties that councils have sought to acquire in previous months.

In every month so far, there have been multiple applications to the board to acquire housing, and this was the first month in The Journal’s series where an application was made to CPO just one property.

The previous three months saw councils apply to CPO four, two and three properties in September, October and November respectively. 

Faha, Kilmacthomas (Waterford)

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Thirteen councils revealed not to have used their powers to CPO any derelict sites last year

The property near Kilmacthomas in Co Waterford (file photo) Google Street View Google Street View

On 18 December, Waterford City and County Council applied to the commission for consent to CPO a property situated on almost an acre of land at Faha near Kilmacthomas. 

Not much is known about the property or the council’s efforts to contact the owner, who is named on a map of the site as one John O’Shea.

An aerial view on Google Maps shows the property comprises a house and what appears to be a large shed to the rear of the land.

Google Street View images show the property appeared to be occupied in 2009, but a more recent image from this decade shows it overgrown and in an advance state of dereliction.

The council has not listed a value for the site on its derelict sites register, but does say that it contacted the owner a number of times in 2025.

The ACP listing has not said when a decision by the commission is due.