Efforts from Limerick City & County Council to address dereliction across the region has reached a key milestone.

The Council has announced its intention to compulsorily acquire a further 23 derelict properties, bringing the total number of compulsory acquisition notices to 250 since the formation of a dedicated unit in 2018.

The properties to be acquired under this latest tranche include a six storey former mill building on Robert Street, semi-detached cottage dwelling in Oola and more.

Limerick City and County Council has completed the compulsory acquisition of over 150 derelict and vacant properties in the past four years. The Council is also awaiting the determination of An Bord Pleanála on a further 28 cases. 

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The majority of the compulsorily acquired properties are residential in nature and are put up for sale on the open market by the Council for new owners to bring back into productive use. The Council has reported strong demand for these properties wotj over €2m in sales to date and a further €4.5m in property sales at sale agreed stage. 

Income generated from property sales goes to support the payment of compensation to the former owners.

Director of Service with Limerick City and County Council, Gordon Daly said: "At a time of housing shortage, the activation of derelict and vacant property is a high priority for Limerick City & County Council. There are now a range of government funded grant schemes and supports available to existing and new owners to help refurbish these properties. The Council will continue to use its powers to compulsorily acquire property if owners do not take steps to address dereliction and bring their property back into use."

The Council is now conducting over 100 derelict and vacant property inspections per month and currently has 411 properties on its Derelict Sites Register, the highest number of any local authority in the country.