Debate contribution: Dilapidation Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Declan McAleer on 16 June 2026.

MLA: Mr Declan McAleer
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 5624095

Text

I will follow on from the key points made by my colleague Aoife Finnegan MLA. First, I record our appreciation of the Committee staff, including Janice and Glenda, for the work that they did. I also thank the Bill Office for its assistance during our scrutiny of the Bill. We have had more than 22 Committee sessions on the Bill, so we have given it due consideration. I am frustrated, as many Members are, by the long-standing dereliction in our constituencies — in towns and villages across the district. That was reflected on by Daniel McCrossan, who is a West Tyrone constituency colleague of mine. People want to see action, and they have a right to expect us, as legislators, to provide councils with effective tools to address the issues. We support the ambition of the Bill — we made that clear at First Stage and at Committee Stage, and we have made it clear today — to give councils stronger powers to intervene. However, the stronger powers must be accompanied by a framework that is properly resourced, legally robust and workable. We have taken a considered view on all of the amendments. Aoife has outlined our position on the amendments. Basically, we will support the amendments that, we feel, strengthen the workable provisions of the Bill and improve its practical implementation. From a resource point of view, which is another key debate, and looking at the practicalities of the Bill, we must not create a situation in which councils will be expected to take on significant new responsibilities, incur substantial costs and manage increased workloads without the necessary resources. When I looked through the Committee report, I saw that those issues kept being raised by councils and many other stakeholders who spoke about support, resourcing, the review — I appreciate that a review clause has been added — and the fact that the powers are discretionary. During the Committee Stage, it was also said that there 11 councils in the North, each of which has its local development plan (LDP). It will be a challenge to achieve consistency across the North. There are three council areas in our West Tyrone constituency, for instance. We heard a lot from NILGA and received correspondence from SOLACE about the costs and the fear that costs could not be recovered. If legal challenges were brought to councils about notices that were made, it would be costly to the ratepayer. In other jurisdictions where comparable powers are in place, local authorities are provided with the resources to ensure that the powers can be exercised effectively. That is the standard that we should aim for.
Our position is a balanced one. We support the parts of the Bill that will give councils meaningful powers to tackle dangerous and defective properties. However, where significant concerns remain about legal uncertainty, financial exposure, operational capacity and the absence of dedicated council funding, we will not support those provisions.

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

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