Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

One of the greatest threats to land supply is the widespread practice of land banking or hoarding. The head of the National Asset Management Agency, Mr. Brendan McDonagh, stated there is enough land available to solve the housing crisis because NAMA has sold land that would support 50,000 houses. Only 3,000 houses or 6% of the potential number have been built. Mr. McDonagh blamed land hoarding for this. Land hoarding and leaving land unused is not penalised and these practices have been shown to result in land speculation and higher house prices. ESRI economist, Dr. Kieran McQuinn, stated land owners can hoard undeveloped land at little cost other than keeping planning permits up to date and are rewarded as prices rise. He recommended the introduction of an aggressive use it or lose it tax to force land hoarders to release sites needed for housing. Does the Minister have plans to introduce such a tax?