In July 2012 I was informed by the Derelict sites section that all work has been carried out on both houses on Connaught Street so the District Court proceedings were struck out with costs awarded to the Council. The properties will now be removed from the Derelict Sites Register while the matter of outstanding levies will be pursued. Levies owning on the properties are approximately €70,000. It seems to be a weakness of the legislation that properties can be removed from the derelict sites register without the levies being paid. This is wholly inconsistent with the approach taken to applying development levies which have to be paid in advance of development commencing. In an effort to correct this anomaly and to encourage more responsible management of derelict properties I put the following motion to the July 2012 Central Area Committee “That this Committee call on Dublin City Council to seek amendment to the Derelict Sites Act to ensure that properties placed on the Derelict Sites register are not removed from the register until the properties are repaired and all fines, penalties and costs associated with said properties paid in full”. The motion was passed and has been referred to the Minister for consideration. Mary
