Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Everyone would agree with the Deputy's last point. When you get a letter from Revenue, you have to take it seriously. The Revenue Commissioners will get you eventually. Even if you are dead, Revenue will get what you owe from your estate. That is one of the sure things in life.

I understand that the operation of the legislation - the complications and implications involved - was very difficult and unwieldy. Issues arose relating to boundaries, registration, property ownership and so on. My local authority has issued a number of compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, on derelict sites and there is no reason for local authorities not to do so. It just takes a push from senior management to make it happen. Local authorities can all find reasons not to do it but there are glaring examples of the benefit of just getting on with it and serving the notice. Notices can be nailed to the door if it is not known who owns the property. That is part of the process and it is happening.

On the question of the involvement of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Finance cannot comment until it receives the report on possible taxation legislation. We have to hold back on that. On vacant properties more generally, the Revenue Commissioners is very active. I know from my constituency office that it is reviewing cases of people who are exempt from the local property tax, LPT, because they had an uninhabitable house. Revenue is of the view that if such properties can be made habitable, they should be brought back into use. There are different definitions between the Revenue and the local authorities but Revenue is doing very thorough work in this area, which is positive.

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