Kerry County Council to CPO vacant sites over housing crisis

By Anne Lucey

Kerry County Council is to use CPOs and powers available to it under derelict sites acts to acquire vacant houses to tackle chronic social housing needs in towns such as Killarney.

There is a critical shortage of housing in Killarney, with 1,000 people on waiting lists and where hotels are being driven to build staff accommodation, because there are no properties available for long-term letting.

Fine Gael councillor Bobby O’Connell has asked the council to “use CPOs” to acquire vacant homes across the Killarney District, which includes villages, such as Knocknagoshel and Brosna, as well as Killarney, Castleisland, and Rathmore, to tackle social housing needs.

Houses are lying idle in towns and villages for years that are a blight on the landscape,” said Mr O’Connell.

“Every village and town has them and it’s quite obvious nothing is being done with them. The CPO option is an ideal mechanism to turn them around, help tackle the social housing problem, and revitalise villages.”

The council said it is considering the CPO option, but accurate figures on vacant houses need to be established firstly. As many as 11,500 properties — excluding holiday homes — were said by the Housing Agency to be vacant in Kerry in 2016 based on census figures.

Preliminary information and work done by a number of other local authorities suggests the true vacancy rate for properties reasonably available with potential for reuse is significantly lower than CSO or other data,” the council housing department said in a report to Mr O’Connell.

On completion of the action plan and the establishment of the vacancy level in the county, Kerry County Council will focus on a systematic engagement with the owners of vacant properties. This engagement will include options open to the owners under the various Government initiatives, such as repair and lease, or sale of the property.

“Where there is no prospect of progress, all alternatives will be considered, including pursuing options under Derelict Sites legislation and Compulsory Powers. All such decisions will be made following careful consideration on cost, location and suitability,” the report said.