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Derelict homes shambles in Phibsborough reflects all that is wrong with dealing with dereliction in Dublin

  • 17 years of false starts and €700,000 sunk into 19 and 21 Connaught Street with no progress made is simply unacceptable for the Phibsborough community.
  • The experience of No. 19 and 21 Connaught Street is just one of many examples across Dublin city of a dysfunctional system: a derelict sites register with little impact, the absence of real teeth for local authorities to force renovation, a protracted and costly CPO process, and no clear State approach to dealing with derelict buildings that are protected structures or located in architectural conservation areas.

Responding to the news that Dublin City Council is now abandoning plans to renovate 19 and 21 Connaught Street, Dublin Central Labour TD Marie Sherlock said:

“It is an absolute farce that Dublin City Council has cancelled the project to bring two derelict homes back into use on Connaught Street in Phibsborough. It is a nightmare for local residents and a shambles in the context of a housing crisis in our city, with thousands of families in need of a home. These buildings simply cannot be left to crumble.

“The story of 19 and 21 reflects all that is wrong with the State’s approach to dereliction. The two houses went on the derelict sites register in 2009 and were then incredibly taken off once they were deemed no longer a risk. But of course, with no tenant and no plan for renovation, the houses went straight back on the list.

“It is insane that the houses have been in the Council’s ownership for seven years and still we have no breakthrough. €1.7 million is an astronomical cost that far exceeds what would be acceptable to pay, but we have to ask how we arrived at this position. Frustratingly, it feels there were opportunities to address the condition of these buildings years ago, particularly when construction costs were lower and the buildings were not in such a severe state of disrepair.

“Dublin City Council must now account for the €700,000 that has been spent to purchase these properties with the view of bringing them back into use. They must also account for why they are now in possession of derelict properties that remain unused. We need to review the policy for CPOs, the speed at which they are pursued, and the amount of money being spent by Dublin City Council on addressing dereliction.

“It is simply not enough to buy properties and stabilise them; the Council must have the funding and the ambition to bring properties back into use. Government must also take very clear responsibility for this.

“Unfortunately, 19 and 21 Connaught Street are not the only examples in the locality. We know that 8 and 10 Ferguson Road in Drumcondra have been derelict for at least ten years and are currently awaiting Part 8 planning, and there are also long-running examples on North Frederick Street. It should not take this long to bring vitally needed housing back into use in our city during a housing crisis.

“It is time for central government and local government to set out clear pathways to addressing these empty, derelict and decaying buildings. This requires a significant shift in ambition. We must ensure that our communities are maintained and that buildings that could provide homes are brought back into use as quickly as possible.”