Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The vacant site levy is a farce. The Minister increasing it from 3% to 7% will still not catch the people who are avoiding it. A 0% rate of levy applies if the outstanding amount of the site loan is greater than the market value. When the outstanding amount of the loan is between 75% and 100% of the market value, a reduced rate of 0.75% applies. Where the outstanding amount of the site loan is between 50% and 75%, a 1.5% rate of levy shall apply. No one is buying development land with cash. One would be off one's head to buy it so they are all avoiding it. Anyone who has a loan on development land is not getting caught for the tax. It is borne out by the registers, which are catching the wrong people. Look at the Dublin City Council register and guess who has the most sites on it. It is Dublin City Council because it is a public body. The HSE has two and the Office of Public Works, OPW, has two. The National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, has a site on it. The landbanker is not being caught by this Bill. It does not work. It is not a proper land tax. Does the Minister have an interest in this? It is the biggest problem that we have in housing.

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