Tax break for Dundalk to be operational by June

The Living Cities Initiative is expected to be operational in Drogheda and Dundalk by June of this year, with Louth Labour TD welcoming the news, saying that it will "provide another vital tool for both towns to fight dereliction and vacancy".

Deputy Nash, who told the Dundalk Democrat that he is a long-time campaigner for the extension of the scheme, to both towns, questioned the Tánaiste, Simon Harris TD on the issue, this week.

In the most recent Budget, the Government announced five new towns will be able to avail of the scheme, including Drogheda and Dundalk and Deputy Nash pressed the Tánaiste for a timescale for the scheme’s introduction.

Deputy Nash told the Dáil: “We can all agree that vacancy and dereliction are a scourge in communities up and down the country. There is a particularly pronounced problem in my hometown of Drogheda.

“The Tánaiste will be aware of the extent of the problem in the historic core town centre of what is a very historic town, with some very significant buildings from an architectural and heritage point of view.

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"Louth County Council did an analysis last year of the inner town centre area and identified approximately 58 vacant and derelict buildings. In fact, 46 of those are now in the area the council proposes the special regeneration area should service in the context of this scheme.

“Close to 600 applications have been made since the inception of the scheme a number of years ago. There is a real job of work to be done by the Department of Finance and Revenue Commissioners to ensure the newly expanded and enhanced scheme is accessible and people understand how they might use the scheme and how it might benefit them individually and the towns we represent.”

To that end, Deputy Nash said he is to engage with the Revenue Commissioners, in order to set up workshops for local property owners on how they might best avail of the scheme.

The Tánaiste praised Louth County Council’s proactive approach to the introduction of the scheme and said that with their continued cooperation, he expected the scheme to be up and running by June.

Tánaiste, Simon Harris TD told Deputy Nash: “I anticipate that the areas will be designated by the end of March. It will then be a matter for the local authorities to implement the scheme. My expectation, based on engagement, is that all of the new special regeneration areas will be open by June at the latest.”

Deputy Nash said: “The Living Cities Initiative is not a silver bullet but it is another weapon in our armour to fight dereliction and vacancy.

“There is no doubt about that but we need to take a varied approach to this. Another initiative, which was announced in the budget last year, was the transitioning of the derelict sites levy to a derelict sites tax.

“By definition, the responsibility for the collection of that tax will be given to the Revenue Commissioners. I have been campaigning for that for years; it makes sense.

“I always made the point that business owners who can afford to allow a building to become vacant and derelict must be quite wealthy because owners need to sweat every single asset they have to make sure their business is successful.

“Sometimes the only language that people understand is the brown envelope with the harp on it containing a tax demand. It is important we introduce that as quickly as possible.”