Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I expect that in those circumstances it would not be liable for vacant property tax, VPT because those kinds of properties - in my experience in Dublin Central, for example - tend not to have their own individual entrance or there tends to be difficulties with their compliance with fire safety legislation which mean they are not habitable. That is why the initiative the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced only this morning to make the Croí Cónaithe fund available within some towns and cities could, I think, be very helpful. I heard the Minister refer this morning specifically to spaces above commercial properties that could be converted for residential use. I imagine that that money and that fund would be used to make properties compliant with fire safety legislation or to put in separate entrances residents could use. However, in situations in which spaces such as those to which Deputy Doherty referred do not comply with fire safety legislation or do not have their own entrance, they are not habitable and would not be subject to this tax.