Not before time, owners of derelict properties across Co. Tipperary are facing a tougher new regime as the Government moves to increase pressure on long-neglected buildings and bring more vacant properties back into use.
Budget 2027 has put dereliction firmly back on the agenda, with plans for a new ‘Derelict Property Tax’ intended to strengthen enforcement nationally. For Tipperary, however, the crackdown is already well under way. Tipperary County Council says the number of properties on its Derelict Sites Register rose from 84 in January 2025 to more than 120 by the end of that year, as its Vacant Homes Team stepped up efforts to identify neglected buildings and engage with owners. The Council has also initiated compulsory purchase proceedings, with one property already transferred into Council ownership.
Owners face a clear choice. At present, once a property is entered on the Derelict Sites Register, Tipperary County Council can require its owner to carry out works to remove the dereliction. Failure to act can lead to financial penalties, an annual levy equivalent to 7% of the property’s market value, court proceedings or, ultimately, the property being acquired through a Compulsory Purchase Order.
That means the message to owners is becoming increasingly clear:
Repair it. Sell it. Bring it back into use. Or face escalating intervention.
Tipperary is already identifying more properties The increase in properties appearing on the county’s register is significant. Rather than waiting for complaints alone, the Council says its teams have been actively identifying vacant and derelict sites throughout Co. Tipperary and intensifying engagement with owners. Residents can also report suspected vacant or derelict properties, which the Council’s Vacant Homes Team can then investigate and follow up with the owner. This could have major implications for all towns and villages where abandoned houses, former shops and deteriorating buildings have remained unused for years.
But there is money available to save these buildings The Government’s approach is not based solely on taxation and enforcement. Owners and purchasers of qualifying properties in Tipperary can currently receive up to €50,000 through the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, with an additional €20,000, where the building is confirmed as derelict. That means a qualifying derelict property could receive grant assistance of up to €70,000 to bring it back into residential use. The scheme is already having a substantial impact locally. By the time Tipperary County Council prepared its 2026 budget, it had received 784 applications, approved 576 of them and recorded more than €33 million in housing investment through the programme. More than 200 completed properties had already returned to occupation.
Empty rooms over shops are also being targeted. A further initiative launched this year could make a significant difference to Tipperary’s town centres. Since March 2026, grants of up to €135,000 have been available to help convert qualifying vacant space above commercial premises into homes. There is also additional funding where an entire former commercial building is being converted into multiple residential units. These measures could prove particularly important in traditional Tipperary town centres, where many street-level shops remain in use, while upper floors have stood empty for decades.
A major test for Tipperary, The policies are now in place. The real question is whether enforcement will follow. Tipperary has hundreds of buildings and sites capable of becoming homes, businesses or community facilities instead of remaining boarded up and deteriorating. The Government and local authorities are increasingly combining grants for those willing to act with financial penalties and compulsory purchase powers for properties that remain derelict. For owners, the days when an abandoned building could simply be left untouched indefinitely may be coming to an end. For the people of Tipperary, the hope will be that this new push does more than add names to a register.
The real measure of success will be seeing boarded-up and crumbling properties restored, occupied and brought back into the life of our towns and villages.
Her passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her sorrowing family; loving daughters Lorna, Lila (Thurles) and Hazel, son Melvyn, grandchildren Llewellyn, Sarah, David, Ana, Eve, Luke, Cheryl, Dwayne, Ian, Roy, Mark and Rebecca, sons-in-law Robert, Raymond (Thurles) and John, daughter-in-law Jean, nieces and nephews, cousins, extended relatives, neighbours and many friends.
A funeral service will take place on Friday afternoon, October 9th, at 3:00pm, followed by interment, immediately afterwards, in the adjoining graveyard.
The extended Mooney and Hodgins families wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time, and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.
“Weep Not That I Have Gone, Rejoice That I Have Been, And that I have known you”.
The Government has announced Budget 2027, with a number of changes aimed at helping with the cost of living.
Here are some of the main points in simple terms:
Income Tax. The amount you can earn before paying the higher 40% rate of income tax is increasing to €46,500. The main personal and employee tax credits are also increasing by €125 each, meaning many workers should pay less income tax.
Minimum Wage The national minimum wage is increasing by 79 cent an hour to €14.94.
Pensions & Social Welfare The State Pension and most main weekly social welfare payments will increase by €10 per week. The Fuel Allowance is also increasing by €5 per week to €43.
Disability Support A new €500 cost-of-disability payment is being introduced, with the first payment expected in January 2027.
Renters The Rent Tax Credit is increasing to €1,150 for a single renter and up to €2,300 for a jointly assessed couple.
First-Time Buyers The maximum available under the Help-to-Buy Scheme is increasing from €30,000 to €35,000 for eligible first-time buyers purchasing or building a new home.
Childcare There will be increased childcare support, with the Government aiming to reduce costs for families. Childcare fees are to be capped at €550 per month under the new measures, with some families potentially saving around €1,000 a year per child.
Students Third-level student fees are expected to fall by a further €150, alongside additional supports for some families with more than one child attending college.
Petrol, Diesel & Heating Existing reductions in excise duty on petrol and diesel are being extended through the winter and into the spring. There will also be relief on carbon tax for home heating, with further increases on home heating oil and gas being paused.
Home Energy More than €650 million is being provided for home energy improvements, including solar panels, battery grants and other energy-efficiency measures.
Cigarettes A packet of 20 cigarettes will increase by €1, with additional taxation also being introduced on vaping products.
Overall Budget 2027 contains a mixture of tax cuts, higher welfare payments and additional supports for childcare, housing and energy costs. As always, how much you gain from the Budget will depend on your own circumstances, including your income, family situation and whether you rent, own a home or receive social welfare.
Russian authorities today are playing down fears of a possible plague incident in Siberia after the death of 28-year-old researcher Ms Darya Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.
Russian media reports initially claimed Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, before developing severe pneumonia and dying on October 2nd. That account has not been independently confirmed.
Russia’s public-health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, now says there was no laboratory accident and that Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown origin.” It says testing found no dangerous microorganisms connected with her work.
Yet the response has raised questions. Around 200 contacts have reportedly been placed under medical observation, parts of hospitals have been quarantined, and dozens of institute employees have been isolated. Officials in Buryatia initially said Shipilova had died of plague before changing the wording to “possibly,” while another local warning advising people not to travel to Shelekhov because of a suspected plague case was later deleted.
The World Health Organization currently assesses the risk to the wider public as low, and there are no confirmed additional plague cases. Modern plague is also treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed promptly.
The conflicting statements inevitably recall a darker chapter in Soviet history. After the Chernobyl reactor exploded on April 26th, 1986, Soviet authorities delayed informing the public and initially minimised the seriousness of the disaster. An early Soviet report even concluded that evacuating nearby Pripyat was unnecessary; Moscow did not publicly acknowledge the accident until April 28th, after elevated radiation had been detected abroad.
That history does not prove Russia is concealing a plague accident today. But when official explanations change while extraordinary containment measures are imposed, calls for independent verification and transparency are reasonable.
For now, the key fact remains:- a plague infection is suspected in media reports, but it has not been officially or independently confirmed.
Pre-deceased by his parents Larry and Maura, son Larry, sisters Maureen and Catherine and mother-in-law Biddy (Hayes); sadly, Mr Harding passed away unexpectedly at his place of ordinary residence.
His passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his sorrowing family; loving wife Bridget, daughters Donna and Denise, son-in-law Martin, grandsons Marty and Jamie, brother Nicky, sisters Tricia and Joan, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.
For those persons who would wish to attend Requiem Mass for Mr Harding, but for reasons cannot, same can be viewed streamed live online, HERE.
The extended Harding and Hayes families wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time, and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.
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