'Trump tariffs' needed on derelict Laois properties

BIG ‘Trump tariffs’ are needed to tackle vacant and derelict properties in Laois, to encourage owners to refurbish or else sell up.

Cllr John King made the suggestion at a council meeting, where members were told that 737 vacant properties have been identified around the county, including 49 deemed derelict.

“Trump is all about levies and tariffs and I think we should have tariffs on these properties. There are three or four in Rathdowney that are empty for the past five or six years and the owners don’t even live in the county,” Cllr King remarked at the latest monthly meeting of Laois Co Council.

However, latest council figures show that while the value of demand notices issued for derelict site levies in May 2025 was €184,100, the total collected in levies for all of 2024 was just €17,150.

The council announced that a regeneration team began making a series of visits to towns and villages across the county in May and the visits are continuing in June.

The visits are part of a ‘regeneration strategy’ to target town centre derelict sites that have been vacant or derelict for a long time.

The visits are being conducted in conjunction with councillors and town teams, to focus on ‘high-profile town centre derelict sites’ that are having a negative impact. Initial visits were scheduled for Mountmellick, Portarlington, Rathdowney, Mountrath and Ballylinan.

Director of services Angela McEvoy said that other towns and villages will be included in the visits, when councillors will have a chance to highlight derelict properties with a view to taking action such as a compulsory purchase order (CPO).

Cllr Aisling Moran (Ind) asked how long it can take for a property placed on the derelict sites register to be the subject of a CPO, adding: “The derelict site levies are less than 10% of what the fines were.” 

Ms McEvoy replied that a CPO can take up to four months if not contested but up to 18 months if it is contested.

Cllr Barry Walsh (FG) said he was aware that a council regeneration team planned to visit Ballyroan but dereliction was also “a huge issue” in Ballinakill, which should also be visited.

The May monthly management report by chief executive Michael Rainey gave latest figures from the council’s Vacant Homes Team’s survey of properties, which were identified as vacant in data supplied by GeoDirectory in 2022.

The figures state that 1,133 properties have been surveyed to date in Laois, of which 737 were identified as vacant and 49 were deemed derelict.

There are 41 sites on the county’s derelict sites register and five more are due to be added. A further six sites are to be removed from the register due to CPO or other action.

In 42 cases, initial contact was made with the owner but notices have not been served so far, while correspondence was issued in 14 cases during May 2025.

The derelict site levy is an annual charge of 7% of the property’s market value, with unpaid levies incurring interest of 1.25% a month. Fines for non-compliance with statutory notices, or for preventing access to carry out works, can reach €2,500.

Meanwhile, the council received 28 applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant between 1 January and 30 April this year, down from 34 during the same period last year. A total of 28 grants worth €1,576,178 were paid out.

Since the grant was introduced in July 2022, Laois Co Council has received a total of 234 applications up to 30 April 2025.