Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The increase in the vacant homes tax from three to five times the rate is welcome. When debating last year's Finance Bill, we spelled out to the Minister's predecessor that the rate was too low. It so it is good that it is being increased. The second aspect is that it needs to be further increased if people still do not take action . The idea is to release properties into the market whether individuals let them out or if they make them available to would-be purchasers and do not hold onto them. That is the policy intention behind this. Even at five times the rate, which might be €500, they may continue to hold on. The policy intention of my amendment, which was ruled out of order, would bring in a formula that would allow the tax to be increased. There would be a multiple, so the factor would increase the tax by one every year. Instead of five years, it would be six. If an owner held onto the property and it was still vacant the following year, it would go up to seven and then eight. This would continue up to a point where it would become punitive to retain an empty property in the middle of a housing crisis. That policy intention should be there to encourage the movement of these properties.

The Government has belatedly accepted the point that this had been set at too low a rate. I strongly urge the Minister that the rate should be increased as time goes by in cases where properties remain vacant. Approximately 48,000 apartments were listed as vacant in the 2016 and 2022 censuses. That represents 2% of our housing stock. We are conscious that in other jurisdictions the rate is 1% of market value of property. For most people who own properties worth in the region of €250,000 to €350,000, this rate would be set at about 0.6% or 0.45%. It is five times the local property tax rate now, but it would send a clear message if it went up to six times the following year. If someone held on for another year, it would go up to seven. People need to get these properties back into the market. I live in rural Donegal. I never thought we would have the problems we have now. The committee will take a break in a minute. I have to make a call to someone who is being evicted and who has nowhere to go. There are no houses to rent in the area. That is not to say there are no vacant homes in communities. We just need to pull at all the strings.

I welcome the fact that the rate is increasing, but I encourage the Minister to look at this before Report Stage. If that is not possible, then it should be looked at in the context of the next Finance Bill - if there is one under this Government - in the interests of sending out a signal that says “Move now, folks, because this is going to get worse. This tax is going to increase". A unanimous signal should be sent out from the House that long-term-vacancy is not going to be tolerated in this State in the middle of a housing crisis.