Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with many of the points made by Deputy Eamon Ryan. The hoarding of land and the lack of supply of land, especially the lack of zoned land and the pricing thereof, lies at the heart of many of the difficulties we are now facing in the housing market. I accept much of the analysis the Deputy has offered on this issue. Where I differ with him on the introduction of a so-called windfall tax would be in the context of the point at which the tax liability is calculated when a transaction goes through. My concern is that this would act as an impediment to the release of land to allow more homes to be built. I wish to highlight the measures we have brought in, such as the vacant site levy, and the fact that capital gains tax relating to the type of land we are discussing stands at 33%. I introduced an increase in stamp duty on commercial property in the budget, which is another way of achieving the objective of increasing the availability of land for residential development. It is a concern that bringing in a tax measure of the kind suggested and of such magnitude would actually impede the release of land for the delivery of homes.

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