At the January South Dublin Council meeting, Councillors rejected a proposal to Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) derelict sites in the county. The motion, put forward by People Before Profit Councillor Madeleine Johansson, aimed to CPO 10 residential properties listed as derelict in the county, including homes on Wheatfield Rd in Palmerstown and Grange View Grove in Clondalkin, both vacant for over a decade.
The motion was defeated by 17 votes, with 14 in favour and 2 abstentions. The 10 properties in question, all listed on the Derelict Sites Register, have become a source of concern due to their prolonged vacancy.
The motion urged the council to take action by compulsorily acquiring derelict properties and repurposing them for social housing. The urgency of the matter can’t be understated, there are over 13,000 households, including numerous children, currently in emergency accommodation. It’s reprehensible to allow property owners to keep homes vacant and derelict amid a severe housing crisis.
Initiating Compulsory Purchase Orders on long-term vacant properties is the least the council can do to address the crisis since no other measures like the Vacant Homes Tax are working. By doing so, these properties could be utilised to provide much-needed housing for families facing desperate circumstances. Not only do derelict properties contribute to the housing shortage but they also pose aesthetic issues and give rise to problems such as vermin and illegal dumping in local communities.
The Councillors of the establishment parties Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, and Labour all voted against the motion.
Only radical actions have the potential to effectively address the housing crisis, and the establishment parties are completely unwilling to take such measures.