A meeting of Sligo County Council has been told there is a commitment from the current owners of a derelict apartment building in Ballisodare to carry out works there in the short term.
However, councillors heard there is no deadline for when the works are to be done by.
The issue of the derelict Mill apartment building in Ballisodare has been ongoing for about 12 years now.
At this week’s meeting of Sligo County Council, Councillor Thomas Healy called for a derelict site levy be put on the site if no action is taken.
Independent Councillor Michael Clarke said that putting 320 apartments on two acres of land was a crazy idea, and he felt it should be turned into a commercial site or destroyed.
Councillors described the building as an ‘eyesore’ in Ballisodare, with others pointing out that the previous building on the site had been a mill belonging to the Pollexfen family, one of whom, Susan, was the mother of Nobel Poet William Butler Yeats.
Cllr Chris MacManus said he felt they should be using the derelict site levy more.
He said there were fewer than 30 properties in the county on the derelict sites register but there were streets in Sligo town where there were up to 10 derelict sites.
Fianna Fail Councillor Donal Gilroy said it was disgraceful that this had been going on for so long.
Cllr Healy added that the people in Ballisodare want to see this issue dealt with once and for all:
Sligo County Council Director of Services Dorothy Clarke told councillors that on the 27th June, the council received a response from the owners, and there was a commitment to carry out remedial works in the short term.
Miss Clarke said the council had to await that and keep it under review and scrutiny.
In answer to questions from Fianna Fail Councillor Rosaleen O Grady, Miss Clarke said they would assume the works would be done in a matter of weeks.
There was no deadline for the works . . . the council would have to agree with the works and ensure they were in line with planning.
Cllr Healy insisted a timeframe for the works was needed . . . and he asked that a timeframe be got for the next council meeting.
