Debate contribution: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr John Blair on 16 June 2026.

MLA: Mr John Blair
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 16 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5624091

Text

I rise as Alliance spokesperson on DAERA and as a member of the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. At the outset, I again express the Alliance Party's support for the Bill. It is long-awaited and crucial legislation that would empower our district councils with the necessary tools to address the pressing issue of dilapidated and dangerous buildings in our town centres, villages and wider communities. Those properties are not only eyesores for the local community but decrease property values, pose health and safety risks and have a harmful impact on the wider environment. I wish to take a moment to acknowledge the work of the Minister and his officials in bringing forward the Bill. The legislation has been improved through the Committee scrutiny process, and we have heard some mention of that already. That included input from key stakeholders. I hope they feel that their views have been heard up to this point and, where possible, that those views have been addressed. To reflect the improvement and refinement of the Bill as it works its way through the Assembly's legislative process, a number of amendments have been tabled by my Alliance colleague the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and Alliance supports those amendments. They are technical in nature and, therefore, sensible, constructive and consistent with the purpose of the Bill, which I outlined when I started. There are also amendments tabled by Mr McCrossan, and I want to be clear about the stance that Alliance will take on those. The first of Mr McCrossan's amendments would place a statutory duty on the Department to appoint a person or body to carry out periodic reviews of dilapidated buildings and related matters. While I can fully appreciate the logic behind that amendment, Alliance believes that the most appropriate body to assess the level of dilapidation in any area is the district council. Given the way that the amendment is framed, it would also come at a significant cost to the public purse and would not therefore represent good value for money. Furthermore, amendment No 34 would require district councils to:
"establish, maintain and publish in a manner that is accessible to the public, a register of action taken under this Act."
Departmental officials have been clear from the outset that the Bill should not impose additional statutory duties on district councils. That amendment and, indeed, the previous one would do just that. The Minister spoke only yesterday at Question Time and again in the debate today about the discretionary nature of the Bill to assist local councils in dealing with dilapidation and dereliction. The amendment would add a burden and a commitment. Ultimately, the legislation is intended to give councils more effective powers, not to burden them with additional layers of reporting that may have limited practical value. If councils wish to keep records, that should be a matter for local judgement rather than a statutory requirement. The remaining two amendments tabled by Mr McCrossan are consequential to the two amendments that have already been addressed. They are dependent on the earlier proposals. The same concerns apply, and therefore Alliance does not intend to support them at this stage. I will conclude with a few points. The underlying aim of the Bill is to give councils practical powers to deal with dilapidation proportionately and flexibly. We should be careful not to undermine that objective by layering new statutory duties upon our district councils that would add complexity and cost and, potentially, create duplication without adding any significant benefits to tackling the issues caused by derelict buildings. Despite the last-minute reservations that Sinn Féin have expressed today, our focus is on the right issues. We must continue to focus on the fact that this is an Executive Bill coming through with cross-party support at that stage; that there was no dissention at the AERA Committee, which examined it in detail for a considerable period; and that there is an overwhelming need to address dilapidation and dereliction in our high streets and hamlets. For those reasons, I look forward to the Bill's continued progress through the House, and I look forward to working with others on delivering it.

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

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