Dublin City Council has said that the addition of new properties onto the Vacant Sites Registry is being slowed down due to the appeals process.
The local authority was appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, where members were discussing ways to bring derelict and vacant homes back into use.
Sites on the register are subject to a vacant site levy of 7%.
Dublin City Council told TDs and Senators that the addition of sites onto the vacant sites register is slow because appeals are allowed at every stage of the process.
The committee meeting was the first of three meetings, which will see the Oireachtas housing committee examine ways to incentivise urban living and bring derelict and empty homes back to life.
There was extensive discussion around the need to quantify vacancy in Ireland.
The Department of Housing expects that Local Property Tax returns will provide useful data in this regard.
However, defining vacancy is also another issue that needs to be addressed, the committee heard.
Vacancy can mean different things to different people, Dr Orla Murphy, Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Architecture explained.
She told politicians that vacancy can happen for all sorts for reasons. However, large volumes of housing stock going unused is neither desirable nor sustainable.
DCC told politicians that there is no low-hanging fruit when it comes to vacant homes in the capital.
They might appear empty, but in reality, they are often in use or not suitable for regenerating, the local authority claimed.
This was a claim which many members did not accept.
"Your contribution here is very stark, it basically says that there's almost nothing there and that's not the lived experience in the city," Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick contended.
However, Paul Clegg, Executive Manager, Planning and Property Development at Dublin City Council, said that in his experience people don't want their property to fall into dereliction.
"There's title issues, probate issues, there's owners that have personal difficulties, there's lack of finance and we find that engagement helps a lot with dealing with dereliction", he told the committee.
Today's meeting was the first of three, with two due to be held early next year.
The committee will then compile a report with recommendations on how to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use.
