Cities, towns and villages around the country are "blighted by dereliction", a Committee on Housing has heard.
Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould called for more compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) of empty properties to tackle the problem.
He said he does not believe the funding or resources are there to "take on these land hoarders that are leaving derelict buildings destroy our towns, villages and city centres".
Mr Gould said he has invited ministers to walk through Dublin city centre or Cork city centre and "look at the dereliction".
He asked how it has gotten to a stage where buildings in "in our capital city" are "falling down".
"They are falling down around us," he said.
Assistant Chief Executive of Dublin City Council Anthony Flynn said under Active Land Management 2017, they have completed 54 CPOs.
He said over the last nine months, the council has been carrying out a real analysis with all stakeholders.
"What we are saying in our pilot is - we are going to do this on a street-by-street basis," he said.
"We are going to follow through with other public realm improvements to facilitate a catalyst to make sure these streets are reactivated."
Mr Flynn said the two streets they are focused on are Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street.
He said the council has recently been approved by the Department of Housing to create a project management unit.
He said this unit will be responsible for carrying out programmes to reinvigorate vacancies and dereliction in Dublin city.
"We believe we can come back here in two years and show real progress in the context of what we are doing," he said.
"We are prioritising. We are focusing on a core red line in the city centre area."
He said the scale of dereliction in Dublin's city centre "would indicate that we have to do things another way".
Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan asked for an outline of the project.
"This is the model," he said.
Mr Geoghegan said this was the plan to get people living in the city, including key workers.
In response, Executive Manager of Dublin City Council Karl Mitchell said it will be taking a "street by street approach".
He said "lessons will be learned" from the project.
Mr Mitchell said it was important to identify why shops had stopped operating on Middle Abbey Street and what owners think retail and living in the city looks like.
He said they will then see what Government schemes are available to property owners, while making them aware of their legal obligations.
Mr Mitchell said they want to work with owners but will also be clear in saying they will use the powers they have to "enable vibrancy, active streetscapes and safety".
He said there are 44 properties on Middle Abbey Street and 22 on North Frederick Street.
"We want to see every unit have some activity over ground floor," he said.
The Cabinet was told by Minister for Housing James Browne that data from local authorities on the compulsory purchase of vacant and derelict properties last year and in 2023 has been collated.
It shows the number of such properties identified by each local authority, and the number being acquired by CPO, which varies from region to region.
He said the intention is to publish the data on an annual basis as part of the effort to bring such properties back into use as homes.
