Vol. 551 No. 2
348 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if it is possible and appropriate for a local authority to acquire by compulsory purchase order, a vacant and derelict site (details supplied) on which planning permission was either extant or awaiting decision; if a statutory, regulatory or custom and practice basis exists for such acquisition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9857/02]
Local authorities have powers under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990, to acquire, by agreement or compulsorily, sites which are derelict within the meaning of the Act.
South Dublin County Council, having received an objection to the compulsory acquisition of the site in question, submitted an application on 24 August 1998 requesting my consent to its acquisition under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990. The council subsequently advised that it had refused planning permission for the site in February 1999. This decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála who refused permission for the development on 14 October 1999. Having considered the application and the report of the inspector who examined the site I granted my consent on 23 February 2000 to the acquisition of the property by South Dublin County Council in accordance with my statutory functions. The administration of the order is a matter for the council who may, by vesting order, acquire the site. My Department has no further function in the matter.
