Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the main objectives of all of us is to deliver affordable housing, and one of the most important factors when trying to do that is how we manage our land, both State and private. I thank Deputy Wallace for introducing the Bill. The vacant site levy has not worked in the way it was intended. There has been a lack of engagement by local authorities to take it seriously, there are issues with how the site selection was carried out, and some local authorities are more proactive than others. There are a great deal of aspects, therefore, that have not clicked or made the levy work in the way it was envisaged. Furthermore, it contained many get-out clauses, as Mr. Reynolds identified. Homing in on a few specific aspects, I have wondered what is causing land prices to continue to escalate. While holding and land banking is a part of that, flipping is another part and it dates back to the planning permission process. Over a period, I have wondered whether we need to reconsider what the final grant of planning permission is.

If I am a developer, it is easy and cost effective to obtain planning permission on zoned lands. A developer will have to invest significant funding to deliver construction drawings before the final grant of planning permission. The Bill defines a “vacant or idle” site as one in respect of which the period of planning permission for a development has exceeded 12 months. By the time a developer has construction drawings made, he or she could easily have exceeded the 12-month limit. While I do not necessarily disagree with it, it could be another cost for the developer which commits him or her to the site, rather than just obtaining and flipping planning permission.

The Bill also provides a definition for a “vacant or idle” site as one in respect of which a commencement notice for a development has been issued and 36 months have elapsed without completion. Developers get into trouble and various matters can slow down work. I appreciate that the Deputy has said he will examine this issue.

Will Deputy Wallace work through the logic of a landowner being able to sell a site to a local authority at 40% of its market price? However, there will be no onus on the landowner to sell it. How will that work out?

The State buying turnkey units and developments is becoming a concern of mine. Last year the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government gave a commitment that he would stop interfering in the private market and buying private housing units. He has stopped buying one, two or three units. Instead, however, the State is buying entire developments. It has bought one entire development of 40 houses in Wicklow town. It is buying 75 units in another development of 150 units and 88 units in a development of 100 units in Rathnew. These were all meant to be houses for people who wanted to get onto the housing ladder. Now, the State has interfered in the market and taken these houses away from potential first-time buyers and included them in its housing stock. It comes back to the fundamental principle that the State needs to take control of building its own housing and not depend on the private sector. It is becoming more evident every year that the Government is relying on turnkey developments to meet its targets. It is, however, taking houses out of the private market and actually inflating the cost of housing for first-time buyers.