Dublin City Council is being criticised for leaving two derelict homes in Phibsborough untouched for three years.
The local authority acquired numbers 19 and 21 Connaught Street in 2019 through a compulsory purchase order but says covid delays have prevented it from bringing the homes back into use.
Last night locals held a protest outside the properties calling for action.
Elsewhere in Phibsborough - two houses on Connaught St unoccupied for decades and derelict since 2009, owned by @DubCityCouncil and allowed to deteriorate into utter dilapidation! @colmanos @frankmcdonald60 #housingcrisis pic.twitter.com/E94rIVV2fT
— @crossgunscampaign (@crossgunscampa1) August 31, 2022
Paul McCarthy, who lives on Connaught Street, doesn't think anyone has lived in the houses since the 1980s;
"They've been boarded up certainly since the 2000's. In 2010 the whole structure nearly came down, there was a court order implemented to get the brickwork repaired, the brickwork has been repaired, they were boarded up again but now are falling down."
In a statement, Dublin City Council says because of the ‘as built’ condition of the properties "the process for their refurbishment and return to use is a lengthy process and requires extensive resources from the City Council."
It says once Covid-19 restrictions were lifted the City Council initiated works to have both properties and their gardens cleared of antisocial material and rubbish.
The council says it's the process of finding a design team to undertake a condition survey and prepare the necessary plans to have the properties refurbished.
It's envisaged that both of the houses will be ready for tenants in 2023.
Main image: Labour Senator Marie Sherlock @marie_sherlock
