State public transport company CIÉ, which owns several properties laying vacant in Dublin city since the 1980s, has not paid any levies since they were declared derelict in 2019 as it has not received “any bills” to date.
Four public bodies, including the Department of Education, have paid a combined total of more than €550,000 to Dublin City Council in dereliction levies and interest accrued.
The sites include those earmarked for a school which first received planning permission almost two decades ago, but remain vacant and derelict.
While the publicly owned sites have been added to Dublin City Council’s Derelict Sites Register in recent years, some have lain vacant since the 1980s, such as those owned by CIÉ.
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Last valued at €300,000 in 2019, the row of four buildings at 10-13 Conyngham Road, Dublin 8, were added to the register that same year; however, no levies have been paid since.
Although the properties have been owned by CIÉ since 1965 and were last used as offices in the 1980s, a spokesman said it is “currently considering a number of options for these properties at the moment”.
The derelict sites levy is charged annually at 7 per cent of the market value, beginning the year after it is added, meaning €126,000 has gone unpaid.
This is excluding the additional monthly interest of 1.25 per cent on unpaid levies.
“It isn’t that CIÉ does not have to pay derelict sites levies, but that CIÉ is not aware of any bills having been issued for these properties,” the spokesman said.
Dublin City Council did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education has paid €58,800 to the council for four derelict Dublin 1 properties since they were placed on the register in 2023 when they were valued at €420,000 in total. This is in addition to €367.50 in interest, which the department attributed to a late payment.
A spokeswoman said the properties “came into the ownership of the Department of Education and Youth in 2013”.
However, planning permission for a school was granted in 2008 when it was known as the Department of Education and Science.
Funding for the project was placed on hold but approval was ultimately given in 2013 to proceed, according to planning documents.
Permission was subsequently granted again for a similar project in 2015, though the site went undeveloped. An application to extend the permission was granted in 2021 until 2026.
The department said the project is now at an “advanced stage of architectural planning” though enabling works are required as the site has been deemed unsafe.
It said it is not possible to outline timelines.
Separately, the HSE has paid €377,523 to Dublin City Council since 2023 for properties on James’s Street in Dublin 8.
This includes €32,912 in interest accrued due to initial non-payment of the levies as it was unaware the legislation applied to State bodies.
It subsequently applied to the council to have the interest waived which was ultimately declined.
The spokesman said the future use of numbers 162-165, James’s Street, which it acquired for €2.425 million, is still being considered.
The Land Development Agency, meanwhile, has paid €130,725 to Dublin City Council since 2022 for three properties at Thomas Court. This includes €4,725 in interest accrued in 2022 for non-payment.
The figure does not include an additional €42,000 for 2025, for which the LDA said it is awaiting a payment demand from the council.
A spokesman for the LDA said it acquired the properties in 2021 and intends to demolish them to allow for the wider regeneration of the Pear Tree Crossing lands.
