Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Roinnfidh mé m'am idir mé féin agus an tAire Stáit. Beidh thart ar trí nóiméad agam féin agus nóiméad amháin aige. I will share my time with the Minister of State. I will use approximately three minutes myself and give a minute to the Minister of State to respond.

Last week a report was published that revealed that only four councils in the State collected the vacant sites levy, which means that 27 did not collect these vital funds for the provision of much needed housing. This report shows that millions are owed to councils. We are speaking of a sum greater than €9 million. This is deeply concerning to me and is also of great concern to the people I represent. We need far greater clarity on the collection of both the vacant sites levy and the derelict sites levy.

Just down the road from where I live in Galway city, there is a dilapidated building on the site of the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel. This is one of the most prominent locations on the east side of the city and one of the first buildings one passes when entering Galway. Not only is it an eyesore, a waste of valuable space in Galway city and a fire hazard, but it has also been on the derelict sites register since January 2015, well over five years ago. Despite numerous requests and a freedom of information application from me, there is no clarity on the levies that have been paid to Galway City Council in this regard. That is simply not good enough. It is very clear that we need far greater transparency regarding what is owed and where.

In the middle of a housing crisis, we cannot afford to have land lying idle in our urban areas. In the middle of a global pandemic, we cannot afford to leave €9 million in uncollected levies. As we have heard today, local authorities are being squeezed for funding and, in light of the impact the coronavirus is having on local economies, we know that they will be squeezed even further. It therefore makes no sense not to collect these levies.

Tá géarchéim ann maidir le maoiniú do chomhairlí áitiúla. Ba chóir aon airgead atá dlite don rialtas áitiúil a bhailiú mar gheall go bhfuil sé ag teastáil go géar. While certain Deputies are getting hot under the collar claiming that €350 is an excessive weekly income, there is little mention of the €9 million in uncollected levies. That tells us a lot of where the political focus is and the understanding of what it is like to struggle to put food on the table and to keep a roof over one's head.

Mar sin, tá trí cheist agam for the Minister of State. One, why is this money not being collected? Two, do local authorities require greater powers to collect it? Three, can the amounts paid and owed for the derelict site levy be published? Public funds should be public knowledge.

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