Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak about the Bill which is part of the response to the housing shortage, an issue that has been well aired in this Chamber and the media. We know that we need a multifaceted approach. I consider this to be emergency-type legislation in the sense that we are proposing to introduce a vacant site levy, which is a penalty on people who own property. In the normal course we protect property rights, except when it is a matter of public interest. I understand there are qualifications on the protection of property rights and that the case is being made that it is in the greater good for certain steps to be taken.

I note that the legislation seeks to address issues of supply and land-holding, where land will be freed up where people are holding onto it and that it will be made available for housing, with the effect of boosting the construction sector, which in the process will be a double win, so to speak. However - I have spoken about this matter before - I am concerned about the operation of the vacant site levy in rural constituencies such as mine - Mayo. I would like to think such a vacant site levy would not apply. There is a reason for saying this.

Based on the general case I intend to set before him, the Minister of State might offer a view as to how he sees the vacant-site levy operating. There is nobody homeless in my home county of Mayo at this time, but there is a substantial local authority housing list of more than 3,000 people. Fortunately, all of those people are currently housed in private rented accommodation. Some people in the county are in housing that requires improvement and others need a change of housing to better suit their needs. At the same time, new housing estates in some towns contain empty properties. The idea that there is a housing need in Mayo and other rural counties in the same way that there such a need in Dublin, Cork, Galway or any of the main cities is not correct. As such, a vacant-site levy would be unduly onerous for private property owners in rural counties where a local authority decides to indicate a housing need in its development plan. I am not saying there will not be that need in the future but, for now, the main issue is a social housing need, which is somewhat different from a general housing shortage.

My concern is that the owners of these vacant or under-utilised sites are not major property owners. There is no real market in many of the towns in my county for these properties and it would not be commercially viable to refurbish them for letting, whether for commercial or housing purposes. In many cases, moreover, owners would be unable to obtain the financing to do that. Considering the market conditions that are prevailing in rural Ireland, the proposed levy is unfair and inequitable. In short, the problem it seeks to address is a city-based one. The situation is simply not the same as between rural Ireland and urban Ireland, as other speakers have acknowledged. I would describe even the towns in my county as rural. The people who will be impacted are ordinary citizens, not property speculators or developers. They will be penalised for having a property they probably cannot sell and cannot afford to refurbish. That is not right. In such situations, where there is not the same housing need as exists in Dublin and other cities, is it the expectation that local authorities will introduce a vacant-site levy?

The definition of "vacant site" refers to regeneration land which has an adverse effect on the existing amenities or character of the area. In a county like Mayo, that is covered by the Derelict Sites Act. People may improve the visual appearance of their home or property such that it is not detracting unduly from the surrounding properties, which is covered under that Act. Will the Minister of State comment on that issue?

This legislation needs to include provision in respect of local authorities and housing authorities. As it stands, it contains a specific exclusion whereby councils will not have the same duties and responsibilities as private property owners. In Mayo and many other counties, a large number of the landbanks are owned by the local authority. Indeed, many of the rundown and inhabitable properties which have fallen into dereliction are owned by the council. It might temper the actions of local authorities in drawing up a plan to zone areas in which the vacant-site levy would apply if they had to subscribe to the same law as will apply to the private citizens who have to produce the money needed to bring properties up to standard. The provision should be amended to effect that change.

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