Dublin’s dereliction is remarkable in its longevity. The city has enjoyed long years of prosperity, interrupted admittedly by the 2008 crash, but even then, the capital recovered faster than the rest of the State and for the last decade has been on an upward economic trajectory. Yet empty shells of buildings, boarded-up shops, and some sites that are little more than rubble, remain a persistent blight on the urban landscape.
The property crash after 2008 contributed to the dereliction. Rows of old buildings were bought up for development projects in the boom years and left to deteriorate when the money ran out. However, the recession is only partially to blame, with many derelict sites and buildings predating the site assembly frenzy of the 1990s and 2000s.
Not all neglected buildings and sites involve a developer waiting for the top of the market to squeeze the maximum value from their asset. In some cases, particularly when it comes to residential properties that have fallen into ruin, or the city’s substantial stock of empty Victorian shops with old flats above, there are more human stories at play. These can involve people who have struggled to maintain their homes, families dealing with difficult probate and title issues, or ground floor businesses that people hope will remain a going concern.
In dealing with these difficult personal situations , Dublin City Council often acquits itself admirably, working with owners to get their properties back into good order, or helping them to realise that a sale might be the best option. But this is painstaking, laborious work, which alone cannot turn around the city’s fortunes.
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The council and other State bodies are also responsible for significant parts of the city’s dilapidation, with a long history of acquiring sites for projects which don’t proceed or are subject to lengthy delays. While sometimes project failure is unavoidable, this does not excuse the State from poor custodianship of its own assets.
The State’s attitude to the management of public property is important not only as a model to private owners, but because its acquisition of more derelict properties is likely to be the only solution to the problem. The carrots of grants and the sticks of levies have not proved adequate to drag sufficient numbers of properties out of dereliction– for many of the most stubborn sites the State will need to step in and stump up.
This was a recommendation of the Taoiseach’s Taskforce for Dublin report published late last year which said derelict sites should be acquired and converted into “high-density residential with provision for essential workers”. An implementation plan for the recommendations has yet to be published. In the midst of a housing crisis, this should now be a priority.
