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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 12 properties – by far the highest number since The Journal began tracking the figure in April last year.
It’s not entirely clear why Ireland’s local authorities were particularly active last month, though the government has increasingly sought to make tackling dereliction a priority in order to alleviate the housing crisis.
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 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 first 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, six councils applied to the commission in April to CPO 12 properties between them. Here they are:
On 1 April, Laois County Council applied to the commission to acquire a 0.15 hectare vacant site near The Square in Rathdowney via CPO.
The land was entered on the council’s derelict sites register in May 2024, and is deemed to have a market value of €45,000.
Google Maps shows that the land is situated behind a car park near a number of other businesses in the centre of the town, though there is not much other information about it available online.
A decision by the commission is due by 31 August this year.
Laois Live reported last week that the council had already surpassed its target to CPO vacant properties for 2026, and quoted the local authority’s chief executive as saying it was going to “keep pushing” to buy up more.
The council has acquired seven properties via the CPO process to date in 2026, surpassing its target of six properties; it did not acquire any in 2025.
On 3 April, Roscommon County Council submitted an application to CPO a derelict site known as “Hilltop House” on Greenfield Road in Knockroe in Castlerea.
The council previously made an application to CPO this property in February, which was reported on by The Journal at the time.
That application was deemed invalid by the commission before it was decided, so a new application has been made by the local authority.
The council’s derelict sites register says the property was first declared derelict in April 2021, and the house sits on land of about 0.0743 hectares.
There is not much more publicly available information about who owns the property, but an old notice on the property website MyHome.ie indicates it went on the market for around €55,000 in 2013.
On 14 April, Kildare County Council applied to CPO a 1.7-acre derelict parcel of land which contains two properties at Main Street in Castledermot.
Google Street View images show the land is completely vacant and overgrown, though the council’s derelict sites register says it has only been listed as derelict since September last year.
The Journal could not find any information about how much the properties are worth or how long it has been vacant. Their owners are named on the council’s website.
The case is due to be decided by 14 September this year.
At the start of April, Kildare County Council published a plan to support the revitalisation of Castledermot, which will include the tackling of dereliction.
The plan identified a cluster of derelict buildings along Main Street, which included a number of residential units like those that are the subject of this CPO.
Later last month, the Kildare Nationalist reported that the local authority has added three properties in the town to its register in the past two years and that seven more buildings had been earmarked for refurbishment.
On 16 April, Waterford City and County Council applied to CPO a three-bedroom property at Blynd Quay at Passage East.
The property is listed on the council’s derelict sites register and images from Google Street View show that it appears to be in a state of severe disrepair.
An entry on the property website MyHome.ie shows it was sold for €15,000 in November 2021, though the council deems it to have a market value of €40,000.
The case is due to be decided by 23 July.
Waterford City and County Council also applied on 16 April to CPO a property at 6 Barrack Street in Tallow.
The council has declared the property’s market value at €70,000 on its derelict sites register, and has listed its owners as the estates of the late Peggy and Liam O’Keeffe.
The case is due to be decided by 23 July.
Also on 16 April, Waterford City and County Council applied to CPO a property known as The Coach House on Wolfe Tone Road in Dungarvan.
The council’s derelict sites register lists the value of the property as €50,000, though not much other information is available about the site.
The case is due to be decided by 23 July.
On 24 April, Mayo County Council submitted three separate applications to acquire properties at 29, 31 and 32 Highland Park at Kilkelly.
The council also applied to CPO a fourth property, 30 Highland Park, on 30 April.
Three of the properties are houses, while the third seems to be a vacant parcel of land.
The council listed all four properties on its derelict sites register last year, though has only given a value of €70,000 for 32 Highland Park.
The owners of the properties are simply listed as “private individuals” and it is not known if all four are owned by the same person.
All four cases are due to be decided by 6 August.
Mayo County Council also applied to the commission on 24 April to CPO a fifth property at 11 Hazel Court on Convent Road in Ballinrobe.
The semi-detached property appeared in good condition when captured by Google Street View’s car in 2009.
It has been listed on the council’s derelict sites register since last year, though no value has been put on it and the owners are listed as “private individuals” living in Galway.
No other information could be found about the house, and the case is due to be decided by An Coimisiún Pleanála by 6 August.
On 27 April, Cork County Council applied to CPO a site at 131-132 Bank Place at Thomas Davis Street in Mallow.
The site was entered on the derelict sites register in October 2023 and is valued at €100,000 by the council.
No other information about the site was available online.
The commission is due to decide on the CPO by 22 September.
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