Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I too will raise BPFI report. We know from the report that rents in Ireland have increased by more than four times the EU average over the past 12 years. Those figures absolutely lay bare the extent of the crisis in this country. Under the Government, the fact is that things are getting worse. Rents, house prices and homelessness are all at record levels and are continuing to exponentially grow. Meanwhile, mortgage approvals have hit their lowest level in the past 17 months. Construction in the three months to September was down a massive 22% compared to the same period last year. This crisis is having disastrous consequences for every aspect of life in Ireland.

To give the Minister just one example, we have a teacher recruitment crisis in our schools, in large part because teachers can no longer afford the housing costs in Dublin or other urban areas. The Social Democrats will bring forward a motion on that issue tomorrow to propose solutions I hope the Government will adopt. One of the proposals relates to vacant homes. We have been waiting for a vacant homes tax to be introduced since it was first mooted by Fine Gael in 2016, which is six years ago. A proper vacant homes tax can be the fastest, cheapest and most sustainable means of bringing additional homes into use.

Regrettably, the vacant homes tax the Government has finally proposed is so low as to be laughable.

The Government has set the rate at just 0.3% of the value of a property. Does the Minister know that house prices increased by 10.8% in the past year? If the value of a home will increase by more than 10% if it is left vacant, how on earth is a tax of 0.3% an incentive to bring it back into use? Let us take an example of a home that is worth €400,000, which is less than the average price of a Dublin home. Under the Government's plans, the vacant homes tax will be charged at a rate of €1,215 per annum for the next year, but the value of the home will increase by €43,200 over the same period. Sitting on it will still earn people almost €42,000 even after they pay the pathetically low rate of vacant homes tax the Government has introduced. Will the Minister and the Government, for once, take this housing crisis seriously and implement a measure that will make a big difference? He will soon be Minister for Finance for the next two years. I implore him to implement a punitive vacant homes tax. The Social Democrats have proposed a rate of 10% of the value of the home. Will the Minister urgently review the rate of this tax and raise it to a meaningful level?

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