Debate contribution: Dilapidation Bill: Final Stage
Debate contribution by Mr John Blair on .
- MLA
- Mr John Blair
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 8 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Dilapidation Bill: Final Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5673982
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Apologies for any confusion. I will speak as the Alliance Party spokesperson for agriculture, environment and rural affairs and as a member of the AERA Committee. I intend to speak briefly so as to avoid repetition of previous points. At the outset, I, once again, express the Alliance Party's support for the Dilapidation Bill. It is long-awaited and important legislation that will provide our local councils with more effective tools to address the serious issue of dilapidated and dangerous buildings across our town centres and wider communities. It is important to point out that the Bill is wider than just the appearance of town centres: it addresses safety as well as aesthetics. The properties at stake are not only eyesores but reduce confidence in local areas, decrease property values, pose health and safety risks and have a damaging impact on the wider environment. In many places, they also undermine efforts to regenerate our high streets and create safer, more attractive spaces for residents, businesses and visitors. I acknowledge the work of the Minister and departmental officials in bringing the Bill to this point. Officials briefed the Committee regularly and in a detailed way. That gratitude extends to Committee officials and the Bill Office. The legislation has benefited from Committee scrutiny, including engagement with a number of key stakeholders, and I hope that those stakeholders feel that their views have been heard and, where possible, reflected in the Bill as it has progressed through the Assembly. This is constructive and sensible legislation. It will not solve every issue connected to dereliction or town centre regeneration, but it is an important step forward. It gives councils a clearer, more practical framework in which to act, and it responds to a problem that many communities across Northern Ireland know only too well. For those reasons, the Alliance Party is pleased to support the Dilapidation Bill at its Final Stage. I look forward to seeing it implemented in a way that supports safer, cleaner and more vibrant communities across Northern Ireland.
343 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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