Latest news with #FrankO'Connor
The Irish Sun
05-08-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Dublin city derelict building numbers soar by 80% as old Victorian pub lies empty amid ‘far lower' than true data fears
Dr Frank O'Connor has said that the number does not reflect the reality of the problem in the city DERELICT DUBLIN Dublin city derelict building numbers soar by 80% as old Victorian pub lies empty amid 'far lower' than true data fears THE NUMBER of derelict building in Dublin city has soared by almost 80 per cent in the last four years, according to new figures. Dublin City Council's Derelict Sites Register shows that there were 131 properties in a dilapidated site in July of this year - up from 74 at the end of January, 2021. However, the local authority has now taken ownership of Neary's Bar and Hotel on Parnell Street, which has been lying idle for many years. The Council said it currently has no plans to acquire any more. Co-founder of the Derelict Ireland movement, Dr Frank O'Connor, has said that the number does not reflect the reality of the problem in the city. He said: 'You'll find there's a huge inconsistency across the country in terms of how local authorities tackle dereliction. 'From our work across the country, we generally find that the recorded numbers of derelict properties are far lower than the actual number, and from the data we have collected, Dublin is no different. 'We see so much dereliction in Dublin, and it has a huge impact on the community. They lose out on the potential that property could offer to the area. 'I don' t think there has been the cultural or political will to tackle the issue for the last number of decades, but that is starting to change. If you chat to people on the street now, they want change.' Change may be made possible through a new statutory instrument called a Special Purpose Vehicle. Green Party Councillor for Dublin's North Inner City, Janet Horner, said the Special Purpose Vehicle can be employed to combat dereliction in Dublin. 'The Special Purpose Vehicle is proposed as part of the Taoiseach's Task Force recommendations, but it really comes from Dublin City Council as an idea. 'Essentially, it provides for the creation of a development company, wholly owned by the city council. 'Because it's a development company, it's allowed to do things a little bit differently than the city council would be empowered to do. For example, it would to be able to acquire properties outside of the Compulsory Purchase Order process. 'It enables the council to take risks in relation to derelict properties in a way that it otherwise wouldn't.' 'If you look around the wider O'Connell Street area, along Abbey Street, Parnell Street and Marlborough Street, there are significant derelict and vacant sites there and that is a prime place where the city council needs to be intervening and actually acquiring those properties.'
RTÉ News
05-08-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
131 derelict buildings recorded in Dublin city
The number of derelict buildings in Dublin city has increased by almost 80% in the last four years. Dublin City Council's Derelict Sites Register, which tracks properties in the capital that have fallen into a dilapidated state, shows a jump from 74 at the end of January 2021, to 131 in July of this year. However, the local authority has now taken ownership of Neary's Bar and Hotel on Parnell Street, a building that has been derelict for so long one elderly inner-city resident says he barely remembers it as a functioning business. "I only vaguely remember it to be honest, I couldn't tell you much about," he said. "I'm in my 70s, and from the inner city, and I would remember it more the way it is now, than when it was a workplace. I notice dereliction a lot in the city. I walk around a lot, and I see it everywhere." Asked what he would like to see the property repurposed as, he said: "We need to turn it into flats for people to live in. Not another hotel, Ireland has enough of those. Accommodation is what we need most for sure." Dublin City Council has said that there are currently 131 properties on its derelict sites register and it currently has no plans to acquire any more. However, co-founder of the Derelict Ireland movement, Dr Frank O'Connor, has said that the number does not reflect the reality of dereliction in the capital. "You'll find there's a huge inconsistency across the country in terms of how local authorities tackle dereliction," he said. "From our work across the country, we generally find that the recorded numbers of derelict properties are far lower than the actual number, and from the data we have collected, Dublin is no different. "We see so much dereliction in Dublin, and it has a huge impact on the community. They lose out on the potential that property could offer to the area. I don' think there has been the cultural or political will to tackle the issue for the last number of decades, but that is starting to change. If you chat to people on the street now, they want change." Change may be made possible through a new statutory instrument called a Special Purpose Vehicle. Green Party Councillor for Dublin' North Inner City, Janet Horner, explains how it can be employed to combat dereliction in Dublin. "The Special Purpose Vehicle is proposed as part of the Taoiseach's Task Force recommendations, but it really comes from Dublin City Council as an idea. "Essentially, it provides for the creation of a development company, wholly owned by the city council," she said. "Because it's a development company, it's allowed to do things a little bit differently than the city council would be empowered to do. For example, it would to be able to acquire properties outside of the Compulsory Purchase Order process. "It enables the council to take risks in relation to derelict properties in a way that it otherwise wouldn't." "If you look around the wider O'Connell Street area, along Abbey Street, Parnell Street and Marlborough Street, there are significant derelict and vacant sites there and that is a prime place where the city council needs to be intervening and actually acquiring those properties." Dublin City Council has said that almost €9.9 million in fines for dereliction are outstanding in 2025, and Cllr Hornet said that is something that needs immediate attention. "It isn't easy to chase these things and pursue them to the courts, but it is really necessary," she said. "We have to be using that power to the maximum the potential of the city. Dublin needs to be alive and derelict sites are antisocial to the city."
Irish Examiner
14-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
NTMA benchmark bond issuance totalled €6bn in 2024
The National Treasury Management Agency's (NTMA) benchmark bond issuance in 2024 totalled €6bn, with the average annual bond issuance from 2022 to 2024 being less than €7bn. Publishing its mid-year review and annual report, the agency said the €7bn compares with an annual average of almost €20bn for the period 2019 to 2021. The bond issuance in 2024 was at a weighted average yield of 2.7% and a weighted average maturity of 11.6 years. Despite higher marginal funding costs in recent years, Ireland's debt interest bill has remained stable, standing at €3.2bn in 2024, almost 60% below its 2013 peak. Limited issuance in recent years, coupled with the fact that almost all of Ireland's existing debt is at fixed interest rates, means the interest bill is likely to remain relatively stable in the near term, the NTMA said. The agency reported a total of €30bn in cash and liquid assets at its half-year point, which reduces the requirement for borrowing in the coming years. So far in 2025, the NTMA has issued €5.25bn in benchmark bonds, including a new 30-year bond maturing in 2055. The weighted average yield of issuance was 3.07% with a weighted average maturity of 21.9 years. ISIF The Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is managed by the NTMA, recently marked 10 years since its establishment, having generated €2.9bn of accumulated returns since inception to end-2024, an annualised return of 3.4% per annum. The fund made 35 investments totalling over €1.6bn in 2024, bringing total ISIF commitments to €8.8bn across 248 investments and €12.6bn of co-investment commitments since inception, a co-investment multiple of 1.4 times. So far in 2025, ISIF has closed a further €800m in investments across its key themes of climate, scaling indigenous businesses, housing and enabling investments and food and agriculture. Meanwhile, the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, which was established in July 2024, had combined assets of approximately €10.5bn at year-end, following initial contributions from the National Surplus. Following the recent receipt of further Exchequer contributions, the combined assets of the Funds are now approximately €13.5bn, and are expected to be over €16bn by end-2025. 'Ireland is well-positioned against the backdrop of uncertain markets," said chief executive of the NTMA, Frank O'Connor. "There is a strong market awareness of the buffers we have in place through our Funding and Debt Management strategy – the strength of our public finances, coupled with the long weighted average maturity of our debt, means we expect to have relatively low borrowing requirements in the short to medium term. "We are also benefiting from locking in the low interest rates in previous years, with the debt interest cost in 2024 of €3.2bn being almost 60% less than its peak over a decade ago. The interest bill is likely to remain relatively stable over the next few years." Phishing attack Mr O'Connor also said the state investment agency will review its security protocols after losing €5m in a phishing attack. The scam was discovered last week after staff at the €17bn Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a sovereign development fund that the agency also runs, expressed concern about a payment made to what they thought was an investee company. Instead, it was found that they had received a fraudulent payment request from a third party designed to look like a legitimate request from the existing investee company at the time of an expected drawdown of funds, Mr O'Connor said at a conference on Monday.
