Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There was some consideration in the No. 1 planning Bill which we brought through before Christmas but there are concerns regarding property rights on zoned land to the effect that one could be open to a legal challenge if one impedes on property rights. We did address it to some degree with the introduction of the vacant site levy whereby if land is identified in a local authority where there is a high demand for housing or other economic need then a vacant site levy can apply to the property in order to stimulate activity.

I accept Deputy Catherine Murphy’s point about zoned lands. Local authorities have the power to dezone lands if they are not being utilised. It is a long process but it is a power local authorities have if they have strategic sites that are not being developed. If developers are not developing sites there is also an opportunity to put a vacant site levy on them. As the economy improves the number of houses being built is increasing year-on-year.

That is badly needed and we expect it will continue in the coming year. As demand rises and the economy recovers we expect to see that improve. We are considering a "use it or lose it" type of clause in planning legislation whereby a developer who does not use zoned land after a certain period could lose the zoning automatically. We have to be very cautious about how we frame that, not to impede anybody’s property rights but we are very conscious of it.