Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil chuig an Teachta Wallace as ucht an Bhille seo a chur os comhair na Dála. I have no hesitation in supporting the Bill and ask my colleagues in the House, in particular those in Fianna Fáil, which holds the balance as to whether it will be passed, to examine it carefully. The explanatory memorandum is clear as to the purpose of the Bill, which seeks to disincentivise landbanking and land hoarding with a view to addressing the overall problem of the price of development land. The main provisions of the Bill, which are clearly set out, are to provide stricter definitions of what constitutes a vacant site, to increase the vacant site levy and remove three of the four appeals allowed under the original Act of 2015 and certain exemptions in regard to the existing levy and, of particular importance and significance, to provide an option for the owner of the site deemed vacant to enter into negotiations with the local authority.

I cannot see how anybody could object to the Bill in the context of the very serious housing crisis and the 2015 legislation which has not been implemented. I understand 11 local authorities were obliged to bring in a register in January 2017 but have failed to so do. I ask the Minister of State to explain why that has not been done. I have records pertaining to two Galway local authorities which have vacant registers, including vacant sites, which is very interesting.

The Minister might read the digest on the original Bill. That Act was brought in when people were saying clearly there was a housing crisis. At the time, SIPTU referred to a housing crisis. The ESRI referred to the need to build 18,000 houses a year, and we were down at 8,000 new houses per year. All of that was highlighted in 2015 and what we brought in then was a very limited Act that was not even implemented.

In addition, the previous Government, in which Fine Gael was the major party, brought in the 2014 Act, which was subsequently implemented. That legislation removed the right to own a social house for life, played around with language and brought in a housing assistance payment, HAP, which the Minister of State is now calling social housing and on which we understand €300 million will be spent this year as opposed to €153 million in 2017. That is what the Minister of State is calling social housing.

With regard to this Bill and the price of land, this is not new. Almost 50 years ago, in 1971, the Kenny report was commissioned. Mr. Justice Kenny sat for more than two years, took detailed submissions and a majority report was presented. It dealt in particular with Article 40.3.2° and Article 43 of the Constitution regarding personal rights, fundamental rights and property rights. Mr. Justice Kenny teased out all of that and stated in clear English in 1973 when he published the report that while there is a right to property, when we look at the common good we are not asking to abolish that right but seeking to regulate it, as was done with rented accommodation legislation at the time. He said there was no obstacle in regard to the Constitution. In any event, this proposition should be tested because we are in the middle of a housing emergency. Language fails me when I seek to describe the situation nationally and in Galway.

I have no hesitation in supporting this Bill. Once again, I thank my colleagues but, more important, I appeal to the other parties in this House. This is a time to show we can make a change and that new politics works.

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