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Money owed to Carlow County Council for derelict sites is 47 times higher than what’s due in Kilkenny

Owners of land on the Derelict Sites Register have to pay an annual levy to their local authority

Money owed to Carlow County Council for derelict sites is 47 times higher than what’s owed in Kilkenny.

Owners of land on the Derelict Sites Register have to pay a levy to the local authority every year.

Returns for the Derelict Sites Register for last year were filed in October.

They show that in Carlow, there’s a backlog in collecting the levies owed, that isn’t there in Kilkenny.

The rates accumulated during 2020 alone in Carlow amounted to €64,364, while in Kilkenny it was €3,150.

A small amount of these levies were paid before the end of the year.

But when debts owed for derelict sites from previous years is also taken into account, the gap between the Carlow and Kilkenny figures widens significantly.

As of the end of last year, there was €143,414 still to be collected by Carlow County Council.

The amount owed to Kilkenny’s council was just the figure outstanding for 2020, ie €3,030.

However, Carlow is by no means an outlier in terms of levies not yet collected, as the figures show most other counties were in a similar position.