WATCH: Shocking Laois house derelection in Portlaoise estate

Evidence of dereliction in Portlaoise estate that is likely to cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of euros is revealed in Broomville off the Dublin Road.

Laois County Council has already declared the bungalow derelict and began a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) in July 2025 to take the house at 55 Broomville into public ownership.

Market value will have to be paid to buy the property, while substantial funds are likely to be required for refurbishing the building in the Portlaoise estate located off the Dublin Road.

Images of the building show that most of the windows have been broken, leaving the interior to deteriorate due to exposure to the weather. Some of the gutters are also full of vegetation, while the surrounds of the property are also overgrown with grass, trees and brambles.

The CPO had not been completed by the time county councillors convened for their final meeting of the year in December 2025. 

READ ALSO: Compulsory purchase of vacant Laois homes 'making some headway'

The Broomville house was placed on the Laois Derelict Sites Register in 2024.

55 Broomville Portlaoise is the derelict home the the council is trying to buy.

Broomville residents were finally told in 2025 that the Council was taking the estate in charge, some three decades after the estate was built. This means the local authority is now responsible for streetlights, roads, footpaths etc.

There are 779 vacant homes in Laois, with 50 of those being derelict, according to surveys by the council's Vacant Homes Team. They have targeted 101 properties in their 'activation program' to force action on owners.

The Laois County Council CEO Michael Rainey, is promising "much higher" numbers of CPOs on homes to come.