Debate contribution: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Aoife Finnegan on 16 June 2026.

MLA: Ms Aoife Finnegan
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 16 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5624076

Text

I thank you for your intervention. That conversation certainly needs to be had. I appreciate your point. As I said, the concerns extend to the wider operational framework, which includes information-gathering powers, entry powers, fixed penalties and departmental guidance. Those provisions will require significant officer time, specialist expertise and increased administrative capacity. They will also, inevitably, create greater public expectation that councils will intervene. Despite placing those additional responsibilities on councils, DAERA has shown no commitment to provide dedicated core funding to allow councils to deliver the functions effectively. Unfortunately, that is where the Bill falls short. In other jurisdictions where comparative powers are in place, local authorities are provided with dedicated resources and funding to ensure that the powers can be exercised effectively and consistently. If we are serious about tackling dereliction, we cannot simply transfer responsibility from central government to local government and assume that uncertain cost recovery mechanisms will make the system pay for itself. A successful model requires investment, proper resourcing and a realistic understanding of the challenges that councils face on the ground. Without that support, the financial and operational pressure will fall on councils and, ultimately, on the ratepayer.
Fair enough. I have made my point clear. I will address the amendments that other Members have tabled. Sinn Féin has considered each amendment carefully. Our position throughout the process has been guided by one simple question: does the amendment make the legislation more workable, more effective and more capable of being delivered by councils in practice? While we recognise the intention behind the SDLP's amendments, we do not believe that they address the fundamental concerns identified by the local government sector around funding, legal certainty, operational capacity and deliverability. In some cases, the amendments risk creating further administrative responsibilities for councils without addressing the underlying issue of resources. For that reason, Sinn Féin will not support the SDLP's amendments, although we get the rationale behind them. I return to the Minister's overall approach. After almost a decade since the original consultation, councils should have been presented with legislation that was not only ambitious in its intentions but properly funded, legally robust and capable of being delivered in practice.
I have given way many times, Minister, so, at this stage, unfortunately, I will not. The Minister had the opportunity to bring forward a framework that would genuinely empower councils to transform neglected areas and tackle long-standing dereliction. We share the ambition behind the Bill — we absolutely do — but the practical foundations required to make that ambition a reality have not been fully put in place. The Minister has recognised some of the concerns raised by the local government sector and has tabled amendments in response. However, recognising concerns is not the same as resolving them. The central question remains: when councils are required to intervene, thereby incurring significant costs, and when those costs cannot be recovered, who will carry the burden? The answer is clear: councils and, ultimately, the ratepayer. As elected representatives, our responsibility does not end with passing legislation that looks good on paper. Our responsibility is to ensure that legislation works in practice and that working people and families are not left picking up the bill for responsibilities that should be properly funded by central government. The Assembly's responsibility is not simply to pass amendments but to ensure that those amendments deliver legislation that works, is properly funded and gives councils not just the powers to act but the resources, legal certainty and practical support to use those powers effectively.
That approach will be reflected in our voting position today. We will support the amendments and clauses that will provide councils with effective and workable powers. Where, however, the amendments do not adequately address our concerns about legal certainty, financial exposure, operational capacity and the absence of dedicated funding, we will abstain.

642 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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