The Government must clarify how its new derelict property tax will succeed where plans of a similar nature have crashed and burned, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne TD.
Deputy Hearne said:
“While this tax is needed, there is no guarantee that it will be introduced effectively by Government. If we look to the vacant homes tax, we see that schemes of this nature have failed miserably under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
“This scheme did not fail because vacant homes cannot be effectively taxed, but because the Government designed it to fail, as it has with many of its policies, such as last month’s disastrous rental changes which led to a spike in eviction notices.
“Today’s reported derelict property tax will be plagued by the same misgivings: inadequate resourcing of local authorities to identify derelict properties and add them to the register; a lack of a concise definition of what constitutes a derelict property; and a failure to fund the processes surrounding these tasks.
“There is no clarity on what fines will be imposed for non-payment once the tax is imposed, which will lead the same thing we see now with the vacant homes tax – properties sitting derelict for decades, amassing fines, their owners subject to no action from the State to compel them to turn them into homes.
“The Government must commit to adequate fines, funding and staffing for all ends of this process if it is to have any chance of making positive change. Alongside the tax, we must enable local authorities to engage in compulsory purchases and reinvestment on a huge scale when it comes to dereliction.”
April 2nd, 2026