Ms Michelle Murphy:

What we proposed last year was that local authorities should be empowered to collect site value tax on underdeveloped land. We would levy it at a rate of €2,000 per hectare or part thereof per annum to encourage landowners to utilise the land they possess and to prevent speculation. Until such time as that is done, people will sit on land banks until the price rises. It is unclear to me what the difficulty is in implementing it this year. If it was announced in budget 2016, I find it difficult to understand why it could not have been implemented in 2016. I find it difficult also to understand why the levy is just 3%. While the Minister may have given particular reasons for this, the levy as it is designed will not encourage people to use the land they are sitting on.