Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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I have looked at this in the United States of America and there is a significant difference between a vacant site levy and derelict site legislation. There is a great deal to be offered in those terms as it deals with many things the derelict site stuff does not deal with. In the United States of America, this has been quite effective and had a secondary benefit where a property is in dispute between a bank, an owner and an organisation like NAMA. As soon as the levy starts to be applied, one finds out very quickly who actually owns the property. As it happened in the USA, it acted in some situations like a compulsory purchase as the levy became so cumulative on a compound basis over a number of years that the state ended up grabbing it like a derelict site for nothing. We should look at that as it has a pro-activity to it and operates in the national interest.