Cork

Shandon, North Main Street and the northside inner city

The densest cluster of derelict sites, many of them small terraced houses and shops on old streets close to the centre — and half of the council's own derelict holdings.

• 33 entries on the derelict register around Shandon Street, North Main Street, Dominick Street, Blarney Street and the Kyrl's Quay area
• 10 of them owned by Cork City Council, including four adjoining houses at 62–65 North Main Street (on the register since 2015)

Risk: Narrow medieval plots and protected structures; several entries are gap sites or single houses rather than buildings a co-op could take whole.

Blackpool and the north-east

Former pubs and shops on Watercourse Road and around Spring Lane sit on the register, close to the Kilbarry and Blackpool regeneration land the State has assessed for housing.

• 21 derelict-register entries in Blackpool and the streets around it, 3 council-owned
• IDA land at Kilbarry assessed for 3,250–4,420 homes

Risk: Mostly small sites; the large State land at Kilbarry (IDA) is rated a long-term (Class 3) site.

City-centre island and the docks

The land-tax map flags 143 city-centre parcels as vacant or idle; Patrick Street's largest department store has stood empty since 2020; ESB and CIÉ land in the docks is assessed for housing.

• 143 ZO05 city-centre parcels on the 2026 land-tax map
• North Docks (CIÉ) 400–520 homes, Marina Generating Station (ESB) 690–930 homes in the LDA report
• City-centre office vacancy 12.2% at the end of 2025

Risk: Docklands sites need flood defences and big infrastructure; the centre's parcels are often small.

Cork City Council — its own derelict property and compulsory purchase

The council owns 17 sites on its own derelict register and in December 2025 moved to compulsorily acquire six more that had sat on the register for years. It returned 229 properties to use in 2024. A co-operative can ask the council (Property Department, Derelict Sites Unit) to take council-owned or CPO'd buildings for refurbishment as homes.

State bodies through the Land Development Agency

The LDA's register lists 1,014 parcels of public land inside the city and its report assesses 16 State sites for housing (ESB, CIÉ, IDA, Port of Cork, the council). Its St Kevin's scheme shows the route in practice; a co-operative can approach the LDA or the landowning body about a site the LDA has rated but not taken on.

Office of Public Works — surplus State property

The OPW names its surplus vacant properties in Dáil answers: in Cork City a former office on Old Blackrock Road (vacant since 2015, for disposal in 2026) and Bannow House in Carrigrohane (to be leased to the council). It offers surplus property first for other State use, then on the open market.

Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant (conversion strand)

Since 31 March 2026 an owner who converts a whole vacant former commercial or public building into two or more homes can get up to €70,000 (2 homes) or €90,000 (3 or more), rising to €90,000 / €110,000 for a derelict building, plus an expert-advice grant of up to €5,000. The building must have been built before 2008 and vacant for two years.