{"id":56745,"date":"2025-09-11T06:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T06:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/56745\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T06:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T06:51:07","slug":"four-derelict-tallaght-homes-to-be-restored-for-sale-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/56745\/","title":{"rendered":"Four derelict Tallaght homes to be restored for sale \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four adjacent boarded-up houses in Tallaght<\/a>, west Dublin, which have been lying empty for years, are due to be brought back into use for sale.<\/p>\n

The properties at St Maelruan\u2019s Park were compulsorily acquired under the Derelict Sites Act with the title vested to South Dublin County Council<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The properties were built around 2007 and were let out for a number of years. It is understood that a businessman took out a loan for the properties, which were then repossessed by the bank after failed repayments, and a receiver was appointed. <\/p>\n

The tenants moved out, and the properties became uninhabitable after damage was caused to them. <\/p>\n

Residents in the area said they believe the three-bedroomed, semidetached houses have been vacant for close to 10 years. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dublin City Council accused of failing to register derelict sitesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The council acquired the properties from the bank, which has been the subject of ongoing legal action from the businessman. <\/p>\n

The local authority said over recent days that its legal team, and the bank\u2019s, are finalising the compensation agreement, and the process \u201cshould be completed within the next two weeks\u201d. <\/p>\n

South Dublin County Council told councillors earlier this year that it had acquired the four houses under the Derelict Sites Act in April 2024. <\/p>\n

\u201cNegotiations with the receiver have concluded with an agreed amount of compensation to be funded by URDF [Urban Regeneration and Development Fund] Round 3 funding,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

The Department of Housing<\/a> fund is targeted at addressing long-term vacancy and dereliction across cities and towns and at the provision of residential accommodation. The fund is available to all local authorities to cover the purchase price of properties, residential and commercial, and any minor works required to make the units more suitable for sale. <\/p>\n

The council added that funding allocated is intended to be a revolving fund that will be \u201creplenished from the proceeds received from the sale or reuse of properties and sites, allowing the council to establish a rolling programme of acquisitions to tackle long-term vacancy and dereliction\u201d.<\/p>\n

It said remedial works would be carried out, and the houses will \u201cthen be disposed of, with preference to first-time buyers\u201d. <\/p>\n

In response to queries from The Irish Times, the local authority said minor refurbishment works have been undertaken to make the properties more suitable for private sale for residential use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is anticipated that the properties will be made available on the market for sale, once all legal formalities have concluded,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

A resident living on the road said they remembered families moving out of the properties, which \u201cwere then just left empty\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis area is good for families, there\u2019s a school right behind us and the road is closed off at one end, so it\u2019s fairly safe. It would be great to see families and people move in,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe four boarded-up houses in Tallaght. A resident living on the road said they remembered families moving out of the properties, which ‘were then just left empty’. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were brand-new houses and were broken into on a number of occasions after the families moved out, and then they were boarded up. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot only did we have kids or whoever jumping in there and doing whatever, but the risk of fire was huge for residents. A couple of winters ago there was homeless people sleeping in there … There was a big rat problem for a while, but thankfully the gardens were cleaned out. I\u2019d say the longer the council leaves them, the worse they will get again. We\u2019ve had people knocking on our door asking \u2018Are those houses for sale?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

South Dublin county councillor Niamh Whelan said the houses were \u201cprobably the biggest issue\u201d raised with her during last year\u2019s local elections. <\/p>\n

\n

\u2018There are very elderly residents around there who take great pride in the area, and then you have the likes of that, standing out like a sore thumb\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Independent councillor Mick Duff <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPeople are always asking about them,\u201d the Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> representative said. \u201cYou can\u2019t come through here without it coming up, and understandably, because people are looking for houses for themselves or for their kids. I\u2019ve someone on to me trying to buy them already. That\u2019s why I have questions in with the council \u2013 the last update I got from them was in January, and they didn\u2019t give any specific timeline. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe houses are exactly as they looked when I put that question in with them in January, but I have seen some work being done, so I hope inside is different to the outside.\u201d <\/p>\n

Independent councillor Mick Duff said while there are individual boarded-up houses in the area for varying reasons, to have four in a row was \u201cvery unusual\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Almost 20,000 derelict buildings in State, with highest numbers in Mayo, Donegal, GalwayOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have lain there for so long and have become an eyesore and the subject of interest for people who are looking for housing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have pressed various councils, pushing them on what was going on and were told there were legal issues that were preventing the purchase. Now obviously they have been purchased and will be brought back into use. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very elderly residents around there who take great pride in the area, and then you have the likes of that, standing out like a sore thumb. It also flies in the face of the fact that we have such a large amount of homeless people seeking forever homes and looking at these and saying: \u2018why can\u2019t we have those\u2019. It was a double-edged sword.\u201d <\/p>\n

An Coimisi\u00fan Plean\u00e1la<\/a> granted permission for the compulsory acquisition of the houses in November 2023. An inspector\u2019s report from the statutory planning body stated: \u201cIt was apparent that the property has not been occupied for a prolonged period and that it has not been maintained or managed properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also said that having regard for the \u201cneglected, unsightly and objectionable condition of the site\u201d, which \u201cmaterially detracts from the amenity, character and appearance of land in the neighbourhood\u201d, the acquisition by the council was necessary to \u201crender the site non-derelict and to prevent it continuing to be a derelict site\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four adjacent boarded-up houses in Tallaght, west Dublin, which have been lying empty for years, are due to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7928,9,10,8753,52,18,13,14,6,8752,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,47,24082,41035,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-56745","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-an-coimisiun-pleanala","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage","12":"tag-dublin","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-featured-news","15":"tag-featurednews","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-housing-crisis","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-latest-news","21":"tag-latestnews","22":"tag-main-news","23":"tag-mainnews","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-sinn-fein","26":"tag-south-dublin-county-council","27":"tag-tallaght","28":"tag-top-stories","29":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}