Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Following from that and going to something that Mr. Hayes mentioned, there is the question of the derelict sites levy, which is a major issue for me. The commission carries out scrutiny and oversight of local authorities. The 2020 figures indicate only 7% of the overall levies were applied and 13 local authorities applied no levy. There is €12.5 million outstanding nationally from levies and in my constituency in Cork city, the authority has only collected €163,000, with a possible €3.4 million outstanding.

The commission has oversight and is looking at governance but how can local authorities be allowed to do this? This amounts to a failure to implement legislation, and authorities should be compelled to do it. As the overseeing body, NOAC produces reports, but this is a scandal. It is a time when we have the worst housing crisis we have ever had. Since Christmas I have never seen it so bad. People are ringing me frustrated and angry because they are looking at derelict buildings and landlords are getting away scot-free. I am not talking about good landlords but rather the people who let buildings go derelict. The NOAC oversees the governance of local authorities, 13 of which applied no levy and all of which combined applied only a 7% collection rate.