Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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A good example is Poolbeg SDZ. We can only go on media reports because we do not have a land register. It has been widely reported that the Ronan Group paid 25% above the guide price for the Poolbeg site. That is a significant matter. We have quite a few responses from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to freedom of information requests about what market values in the surrounding area were. If someone pays 25% more than the guide price, that has to have an impact on market values of land, depending on how much other people are willing to buy and sell at. Market value is determined by valuers at a point in time, but if something changes, such as a decision being made by an investor or a change being made to planning regulations, people can start paying more and the market value starts to change. We had an interesting conversation with the Department. It is good that this legislation is capturing all residentially zoned land from the most recent zoning decisions and development plans. However, the point at which the tax liability may fall due may have a much higher or lower market value because there could be a significant delay, and any changes in market value, some of which are determined by the actual price paid, will not be taken into account.