Almost 100 vacant and derelict properties identified in Twin Towns survey

Almost 100 vacant or derelict properties have been identified in the Ballybofey and Stranorlar area. Donegal County Council has confirmed that 96 such properties have been identified in the Twin Towns area during a survey undertaken by staff. Letters were issues to identified property openers in early April and letters were put through the post boxes of properties which remain unregistered on Tailte Eireann. “Positive contact has been made with a number of owners to date where details of supports are being made available to encourage owners to activate properties,”the local authority’s Regeneration and Development Team, said in a report issues to councillors. “This work will continue and properties which fit the criteria of a ‘derelict property’ will be identified as candidates to be added to the Derelict Sites Register where communication and actions to address the dereliction are not forthcoming.” After recording the highest commercial vacancy rate in the country across many years, Ballybofey was ranked second in the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Report. The Council has said that it will support individuals to re-use their buildings by providing information and guidance on the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, the Repair and Lease Scheme and the Conservation Advice Grant Scheme. "The Council recognises that property owners play a key role in the regeneration of town centres and will seek to work constructively with owners where possible to support the reuse and redevelopment of vacant & derelict properties," a spokesperson said earlier this year. The same report adds that survey work has also been carried out by the team in Ramelton where vacant/derelict properties have been identified through survey work. They say that the next step is collating a database of the properties and then beginning the process of identifying owners to enable communication be initiated. Meanwhile, there were five additions to the Derelict Site Register in 2025. A review of the 18 historical entries that were on the register for a number of years is almost complete, the local authority has said. As a result 14 properties have been removed to date as the process to add them in the first instance was followed incorrectly. Last month, Data obtained by RTE’s Prime Time covering 2021 to 2024 shows ten local authorities, including Donegal, did not issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on any derelict buildings. Department of Housing data for the same period shows that while most councils used a levy of 7% of a derelict sites value, six councils including Donegal did not levy any registered properties. Figures from the Geo Directory show housing dereliction was ‘relatively high’ in Donegal last year at 2,279 units. However, the county also had one of the lowest rates of registered derelict sites in Ireland. At the time, the council did not reply to our query in relation to the issue