Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Casey, O'Loughlin, Brassil and MacSharry. I commend Deputy Wallace on bringing forward the Bill. To answer Deputy Connolly's query, Fianna Fáil will be supporting the Bill. It is an important step forward. There is no doubt in my mind or my colleagues' minds that land is being hoarded. It is a major issue, as the Minister of State will also agree. Land is overvalued in many parts of the cities. It is being purchased by some of the bigger players that have come into the market at 35% over open market value. Deputies will know who I am talking about and I am sure the Department does as well. It is a big issue. We had a debate a couple of weeks ago in which we talked about the State and how it can utilise the land it holds to drive others to move land. We have 3,008 ha of zoned, serviced land owned by the State, State agencies and local authorities that could be developed for housing. It is a major issue in our city.

We have to increase the vacant site levy. I do not think 7% is going to cut it. It is not a disincentive. We need a bigger stick to make some people move on these sites. Although 25% might seem heavy-handed, if a reasonable timeframe and lead-in were given to a penalty like that, it would be justified. There are issues we would have to consider on Committee Stage, such as the 12 month planning permission limit. If someone were to submit a commencement order, would it be 12 months after the commencement order? If they were to submit a commencement order four years after gaining planning permission, planning permission would be staying live for five years. We have to look at these elements to see how we could work it into the system.

We are all aware that there are many aspects of this housing crisis. We have to ensure that affordable homes are built and that people can aspire to owning and living in their own home with a mortgage that is not going to cripple them. The issue is acutely visible in Dublin. They are holding land and controlling large parts of the market and the city. They know how many houses to release in any given year, although not everyone who is in the market is doing this. We also need to ensure that some of the smaller players - some of the indigenous Irish small builders - get back into building homes and smaller developments. We are overly dependent on four or five big players. If one or two of them were to decide not to budge, as they are backed by significant capital resources, we would have a very big problem and would continue to see double digit growth in land and house prices.

I welcome the fact that the Government will not oppose the Bill. We also checked this Bill as Deputy Wallace brought it to our attention last week. We had a look at it from a constitutional perspective and our legal advice is that it is not unconstitutional and does not conflict with the property rights in the Constitution. The Government can bring in a levy or penalty for a corporation that is profiteering in a market. At the end of the day, the people who pay for that are the potential homeowners and those who are stuck in a rental market that is out of control, not just in Dublin but also in many of our urban centres.

This is very welcome legislation. There are certainly aspects around the 36 month completion limit. If there are good reasons for things to happen, for certain utilities, wastewater or whatever, we have to make sure we are not tying people's hands and that there is a reasonable approach. Thirty-six months on completion of certain phases would be fine. Deputy Wallace was in the building game long enough and knows what I mean about issues arising from time to time in dealing with some of the State utilities. In broad terms, I welcome the Bill. It is a good discussion to have and I would like to see it move on to Committee Stage quite quickly. I do not want it to be another Bill that is accepted on Second Stage and dies on the vine. I think the Minister of State would agree that the vacant site levy provisions brought forward in 2015 have not worked. I am not sure increasing it to 7% will work either. We have to look at how we can better use the vacant sites register. The appeals mechanism in place is overly generous. I agree with Deputy Wallace on that.

There are very good aspects to this Bill and certain parts we would like to discuss in greater detail on Committee Stage. Fianna Fáil will be supporting it on Second Stage.

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