Revealed: Twenty-four derelict sites on register in Carlow

At a recent Dáil Éireann Debate, held on Thursday 1st February 2024, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O'Brien revealed the number of derelict sites in Carlow in 2022.

The Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site.

Local Authorities are required to submit an annual return to the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage providing information on the operation of the Act in their functional areas. These returns are collected in Q2 of the following year and so information in relation to 2023 is not yet available. 

A total of twenty-four sites were listed on derelict site registers on 31 December 2022 in Carlow.