Thank you for the opportunity to present at this session today.
1. The most destructive myth in Ireland is that our constitution protects private property above all else, when it clearly states that private property rights ought to be regulated by principles of social justice and common good[1] . The state is not upholding their side of this foundational social contract by allowing extreme levels of vacancy and dereliction to persist. This is a dereliction of duty.
2. Dereliction is a pollutant that visually reflects the inequalities in Irish society. When many people are struggling to find a secure and affordable home or dying on our streets[2], others are allowed to leave homes empty with no repercussions. This is a social crime. A scandalous wastage of precious resources that is actively reducing the market supply of properties, increasing prices and rents.
3. High levels of vacancy and dereliction have a detrimental impact on; community wellbeing; sense of place; a citizen’s physical and mental health; and the local environment; and economy. This is compounded by the excessive loss of heritage through neglect and wanton destruction.(A)
4. Construction is already the most wasteful sector in Ireland, so bringing buildings back into use is the best way to transition to a Circular Economy, where existing buildings are treated as valuable material banks by ensuring all materials are retained at their highest value, in their current structure, potentially saving millions of tonnes of embedded carbon. Simply put the most sustainable building is the existing one, so we need to urgently abolish demolish[3] and bring every building back into use.(B)
5. In June 2020, we started a daily dose of dereliction through a twitter thread, which over one year amassed nearly 450 derelict properties and sites all within 2km radius of Cork City centre island[4] . Viewed by millions, this daily shining a light has caused the Irish nation to wake up to the reality that we have normalised Derelict Ireland for too long.
6. In March 2021, we released the report ‘This is Derelict Ireland’, a pro-bono study that debunks 10 deadly myths of dereliction[5] . The first ever study of its scale and depth in Ireland, the conclusion of 2 years observational research, mapping, policy evaluation and analysis of 340 derelict properties from nine separate publicly available data sources.
7. This has led to a national movement with hundreds of people across Ireland sharing images of #DerelictIreland[6] . To complement this online movement, we created a Walking Festival to End Dereliction in collaboration with CATU Cork. The first festival was in Cork City in September and included 70 derelict properties, the second one took place in Dublin in October with Reclaim Our Spaces and CATU Ireland.
8. The most common dereliction myth is that we need new legislation to tackle it. Although it’s not perfect, the simple fact is the Derelict Sites Act 1990[7] is not fully enforced[8,9]. We urgently need all local authorities to[10]:
• hire vacant homes officers[11]
• register all derelict properties(C)
• remove vacant discount for Business Rates[12]
We propose Inland Revenue collect the 7% annual levy[13] and any new vacancy tax, and ringfence it for legal support to Local Authorities and to establish a one-stop shop[14].
9. With the 10th highest vacant homes rates in the world[15], the majority of which are in our urban centres(C), it’s no wonder many view these places as unliveable. Yet these are the key to quickly, sustainably and cheaply densifying our villages, towns and cities. Since all the necessary infrastructure and resources already exist, we simply have to join the European Renovation Wave[16] with realistic incentives that prioritises urban heritage buildings.
10. Many of our urban centres need a positive disruption to kickstart regeneration, otherwise known as ‘Leaba Te’: a hotbed of innovation through meanwhile-use of vacant commercial properties, which we launched in collaboration with the Heritage Council’s CTCHC programme in October[17]. This is a wonderful regeneration opportunity that needs to be realised.
11. The culture of owners leaving a building derelict and falling onto the street with no repercussions or costs to them has to end. With our current escalating land and properties prices, owners are rewarded for their bad behaviour from the guaranteed rising asset value[18]. This is not the foundation of a healthy society or economy.
12. We are calling on you today to ensure all effective policy measures are put in place to utilise all vacant and derelict properties in Ireland, as homes or as creative, commercial, community and play spaces. We have identified a toolbox of international policy measures, which take a three-pronged approach to tackling dereliction and vacancy through addressing, usage, custodianship and ownership. These include an effective vacancy tax[19], compulsory sales[20,21]/rental/use[22] orders, meanwhile use, and stricter building control[23].
13. If we do this the opportunities are unlimited. Tackling dereliction and vacancy provides a unique opportunity to provide homes, places to play, create and work, places to #RestPlayWork[24]. This is what the people of Ireland want. The widespread support for our work and increased media coverage of dereliction over the last year is clear evidence of this. Let’s do it now and end this pointless waste, neglect and vandalism.
14. anois is an international systems design agency that consults on sustainable use of resources on a product, building and urban level. Our clients include the European Commission, national governments and business. Co-directors, Dr Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry, have over 50 years combined professional experience working on government policy development and business strategy in over 25 countries.
Appendixes
Research shows that long term vacancy and dereliction (12+ months) in an area with excessive vacancy rates (5%+) has extremely negative impacts[25,26,27,28,29]. A study from the Scottish Land Commission claims that living within proximity to long term vacancy or dereliction can lead to negative impacts falling under four categories:[30]
The presence of heritage buildings provides many societal benefits such as creating a strong sense of place and anchoring people to their neighbourhood, thus improving a community’s mental health, esteem and wellbeing. Likewise, urban environments that retain a strong heritage streetscape create many economic benefits for example by attracting tourism and creating jobs[31]. Irish Town Centres have an abundance of heritage structures, in fact 16% of Irish housing stock was built before 1940 and many of these are located in urban areas, before new developments spread into suburbia[32]. anois’s ‘This is Derelict Ireland’ report unfortunately shows heritage buildings are adversely affected by dereliction, 82% of the derelict properties in Cork city are considered to be heritage, this is especially worrying as 47% of them are located with ACAs and 25% of them are recorded in NIAH, while 11% of them are protected structures.
In 2019, the Dáil declared both a National Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, yet we have scandalous wastage of precious resources and embodied carbon located in every derelict and vacant building in Ireland. Construction and demolition created 8.8 million tonnes of waste in Ireland in 2019, accounting for a whopping 63% of all the waste generated with only 6.8% recycled and very little reused[33]. On top of this the carbon emissions of the construction process accounts for 11% of our annual nations carbon emissions[34]. Considering that the construction industry is facing material shortages and sky-rocketing costs, it makes economic and environmental sense to use all existing building stock instead of creating more expensive carbon intensive materials like cement[35].
Typically, discussions on the environmental impacts of buildings relates only to operational energy usages and the resulting carbon emissions. However, when the full life cycle is considered, the embodied carbon contained within existing buildings should not be wasted through vacancy, dereliction or demolition. Life Cycle Assessment studies show that it is environmentally beneficial to retain and renovate an existing building instead of demolition and replacement with a new build[36,37]. Reductions of 53–75% can be made across 6 different environmental impact categories when renovation is compared to a new construction[38]. Likewise, research has shown that “new buildings can take anywhere between 10—80 years to pay back the emissions generated from the construction process, even if the new buildings are 30% more efficient than average”[39]. In addition to embodied carbon, many heritage buildings contain irreplaceable materials such as local stone and bricks that are no longer mined or produced. Once these materials are destroyed they are lost for ever.
Ireland's Dereliction Catastrophe - Dr Frank O'Connor
Since dereliction and vacancy commonly affects heritage building stock it is essential that its embodied carbon is taken into consideration when apply BER ratings, especially in the context of applying for SEAI grants. SEAI grants should be suitability tailored to heritage buildings, for instance low tech energy efficient measures such as insulated shutters, behavioural change and any specialist breathable materials. Considering that 16% of our housing stock is heritage our energy efficiency standards need to be updated to a True Lifecycle Costing approach.
Ireland suffers from a wholescale lack of data relating to its built environment, especially when compared to our European neighbours. We urgently need a mass collection of data on Ireland’s building stock, which should include a complete, accurate and regularly updated register of all use; occupancy; ownership; vacancy; dereliction; buildings at risk; age of building; material composition; energy efficiency, embodied carbon and financial value.
Due to this complete lack of data it’s impossible to place an exact figure on the amount of derelict and vacant buildings in Ireland. However, we do have sufficient data upon which to make effective policy decisions.
The national Derelict Registry figures do not represent reality and massively undercounts dereliction. With just 1,548 properties currently on all derelict site registers[45], it represents 6.8% of the derelict homes identified by Geodirectory (22,754). However, this does not include derelict commercial buildings. Our study of dereliction in Cork City found that roughly half of the derelict buildings and sites were homes. If this ratio is reflected across the country there could be in the region of 45,500 derelict residential and commercial properties in Ireland.
Since vacancy is the main gateway of dereliction, our vacancy rates are an indication to the real levels of dereliction. Regardless of which data source is used, there is no denying Ireland has a large vacancy problem. Whether its 9.4% from the Census or 5.6% (4.5% vacant and 1.1% of derelict) from Geodirectory, both are significantly higher than acceptable vacant homes rates of 2.5%[46]. Likewise, Geodirectory commercial vacancy rate of 13.5% and CTCHC commercial vacancy rates from 10% up to 35%, both well above the acceptable vacancy rates of 5% for commercial properties[47].
Since 36% (65k) of vacant homes counted in the census were still empty from the previous 2011 census, this is particularly concerning as after 5 years a vacant home should be considered a derelict home, as it is at substantial risk of becoming a dangerous structure. This is a risk for new builds but for heritage buildings it is a particular concern. Without regular maintenance and without regular ‘eyes on a building’ what would be otherwise easily preventable problems can quickly escalate, sometimes causing costly structural damage. This can create a significant risk of long-term vacant buildings being demolished instead of being repaired and refurbished. In addition, 64% of vacant homes recorded in the 2016 census are in urban areas, thus representing the scale of the problem but also the opportunity to regenerate urban areas by tacking long term vacancy and dereliction.
[1] See Sections 43.2.1 and 43.2.2 of the Irish Constitution https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en#part13
[2] Homeless figures have been increasing monthly to 8,830 in October 2021 with 61,880 on the public housing waiting list. In addition, there are estimated to be 30k hidden homeless, 3k in domestic violence refuge, 8k in Direct Provision, 600k living in substandard housing https://www.svp.ie/combatinghousingexclusion
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/jan/13/the-case-for-never-demolishing-another-building
[4] https://twitter.com/frank_oconnor/status/1275900684186062849
[5] https://indd.adobe.com/view/fbe49c7c-0c2f-4d2b-9557-d09b541ccd71
[6] http://derelictireland.vool.ie/
[7] Derelict Sites Act 1990 created through the democratic process of the Oireachtas https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1990/act/14/enacted/en/html
[8] Recent Articles raise concerns that Local Authorities are in breach of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 https://www.businesspost.ie/houses/derelict-site-registers-missing-key-details-amid-calls-for-greatertransparency-37870eb3
[9] According to Minster for Local Government and Planning the Local Authorities’ “current processes were too cumbersome and unstructured.” to tackle dereliction https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid40330817.html
[10] In addition, legislators need to close loopholes within the Derelict Sites Act 1990; provide clarity while maintaining the broad definition of dereliction; insist on consistency of application; and place legally binding targets on Local Authorities to end dereliction by 2030
[11] Despite receiving funding to do so, only 3 Local Authorities have hired full-time dedicated Vacant Homes officers https://www.businesspost.ie/Planning/only-three-vacant-home-officers-employed-in-the-last-threeyears-39bd38cf
[12] Local Authorities lose out on €100 million a year through the Business Rates vacant discount which incentivises vacancy and increases commercial rents by reducing supply https://www.businesspost.ie/houses/owners-of-vacant-commercial-properties-set-to-lose-rates-exemptionaccee02a?auth=login
[13] 93% of Dereliction Levy went uncollected in 2020 https://twitter.com/ThomasGouldSF/status/1459194606025908229
[15] https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/empty-homes
[16] https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/renovation-wave_en
[19] Vacancy Tax has been proven to reduce vacancy rates by 13% https://infer-research.eu/publication/taxingvacant-apartments-can-fiscal-policy-reduce-vacancy/
[20] See the Heritage Council’s CTCHC webinar on Compulsory Sales Orders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6OaaSvqlYs&feature=emb_logo
[21] https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.452218!/file/Adams.pdf
[22] Amsterdam’s Local Authority can place tenants into a home that is empty for longer than a year, while the proprietor still retains ownership. https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/housing/obligation-homeowner/. Likewise in Barcelona will place tenants in empty homes at half the market rental rates https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/to-fill-vacant-units-barcelona-seizes-apartments
[23] Some Local Authorities have refused to undertake comprehensive Building at Risks surveys, although lives have already been lost in this state and specifically in Cork City from collapsing buildings https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/cork-city-council-urged-to-carry-out-audit-of-buildingsfollowing-collapse-1.4199791?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin
[24] https://indd.adobe.com/view/000ed59e-56f6-470f-968b-66b0acd32103
[25] https://www.acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/874
[26] https://www.rtpi.org.uk/media/2212/povertyplaceinequality-policypaper2016.pdf
[28] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665973/
[31] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/12286
[32] https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Deep_Energy_Renovation_of_Traditional_Buildings.pdf
[34] https://www.igbc.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/21-IGBC-COP-report-v0.93-1.pdf
[35] Concrete accounts for 4% of all global emissions https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2019-152/essd2019-152.pdf
[36] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/296/1/012037/meta
[37] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09613210601068161
[39] https://living-future.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The_Greenest_Building.pdf (Web Version Unavailable)
[40] https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp1hii/cp1hii/vac/
[41] https://www.geodirectory.ie/knowledge-centre/reports-blogs
[42] https://www.geodirectory.ie/Geodirectory/media/logos/GeoDirectory_GeoView_Residential_Issue_Q2_2.pdf
[44] https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/town-centre-health-check-programme
[45] https://www.businesspost.ie/houses/number-of-derelict-sites-reaches-seven-year-high-2f15526e
[47] https://www.businesspost.ie/Planning/surveys-reveal-vacancy-rates-of-up-to-25-in-many-towns-dc05c666
anois submission to Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage 14th December 2021 Urban Regeneration 1 - Repair and Lease, CPO, Dereliction and Vacancy
Copyright © by Frank O'Connor & Jude Sherry, Anois.org, 2020
The moral right of the authors have been asserted.
The views and opinions expressed in this report and its content are those of the authors.
