Clare County Council has posted a blank register of vacant sites in the county.
Clare County Council has posted a blank register of vacant sites in the county.
The incomplete list has been posted on the Council's website, in order to satisfy national legislation, but contains no such sites.
The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act seeks to ensure that land which could be used for housing does not lie idle.
It requires Councils throughout the country to compile lists of vacant sites, with a view to introducing a levy from 2019 on sites which are not developed.
Those lists have been published online in recent days, including by Clare County Council.
However, in many cases – including here – the lists are completely blank and don't list any vacant sites at all.
A Council source has told Clare FM that the process of drawing up the County Development Plan, which passed last month, has identified a number of sites which could be included.
It's not yet known when the register will be completed.
The Department has defended the legislation in light of this week's developments.
It has told The Irish Times that Councils needed to write to landowners before putting sites on their register.
