Mr. Ronan Lyons:

As Deputy McGrath suggested, the impact of the site value tax would be less than it would under a full tax. The principal reason is that vacant development land and developed land are treated equally. If one takes the route of a full value tax instead, it is effectively equivalent to a second bailout. The vacant landbanks on the edges of towns would not be hit in a tax liability sense. Their value would be increased relative to everywhere else and their owners would be given free money by the rest of society.

An element of the impact should be stressed. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has discussed his desire for the regeneration of town centres. A full value system would push people onto the fringes of towns and remove activity from the centre. A site value tax would encourage people to use valuable land in the centre of towns. This is as much a commercial as a residential point, but it holds true to the system.