Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 9, to delete lines 13 to 21.

If a site has been bought for development and has been land banked, there should be a levy on it whether it is used or not. The practice of land banking is not being addressed otherwise. If I bought a site with five acres for development, do people honestly believe I would leave over half of that vacant and pay a levy? I would make sure it would be occupied in some form or another so that I would not have to pay the levy. This is just another loophole and arguing about whether a site is vacant, putting the onus on an owner to provide proof, would not even come into play if the scenario was not allowed to develop. If the land is being banked, nobody should be allowed out without the levy being applied. As I have said, land banking is encouraged otherwise.

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