Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Setting aside the duration of 12 months issue and focusing on the matter that the majority of the site has to be vacant, if I had a development site that would come under this levy, I would make sure it was not vacant and put something on it. What is a vacant site? If I put a car park on more than half a site, does that mean it is no longer vacant? It is a dangerous path to go down. If I buy a development site with the intention of putting housing on it at some point but put it to an alternative use in the meantime, that does not escape the fact that I am land-banking and should be paying tax on it.