Council ‘shouldn’t have been purchased’ structurally unsound derelict Dublin houses, engineer says

The Irish Times highlights a concerning situation where Dublin City Council's efforts to address the housing crisis by acquiring derelict properties have led to significant financial losses and ongoing structural issues. A senior council engineer has openly criticized past purchasing decisions, stating that some houses "shouldn’t have been purchased" due to their severe state of disrepair.

This revelation comes as the council grapples with the future of properties on Connaught Street and Ferguson Road. Houses bought for hundreds of thousands of euros are now facing demolition or require millions in remedial work, rendering them unsuitable for the intended social housing. The engineer's blunt assessment suggests that these acquisitions were made "regardless of their condition" in a desperate bid to secure homes, a strategy that appears to have backfired financially and practically.

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Unfortunately, Connaught Street and Ferguson Road ... in my opinion, they should never have been purchased in the first instance.

The article raises critical questions about the due diligence and financial prudence of the council's housing acquisition program. With decisions on the fate of these properties imminent, the focus will be on whether the council can learn from these costly mistakes and ensure that public funds are spent more effectively in tackling the ongoing housing shortage.

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Properties that are so derelict, in such a poor condition, that it wasn’t in the best interests at all to try and buy them because you’re now looking at huge costs to try and bring [them] into social housing, which just does not make financial sense. That money should be best spent elsewhere.