Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Canney. There is no problem with engagement, which should always take place between stakeholders. Of course farmers have issues with this measure and will be affected by it. This is a tax of the Department of Finance. The Revenue Commissioners are involved. The local authorities have a central role, as has the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the relevant Minister is directly involved as well.

The draft maps were published by all 31 local authorities on 1 November 2022. Where what the Deputy described as “daft zoning” took place, it should be undone immediately. As the Deputy said, where land is never going to be developed, not for hoarding reasons but for other reasons, such as that it cannot be accessed, there is no point in letting it remain on a county development plan map as zoned land suitable for development. The easiest way out of all that is to dezone that land. That will completely remove it from the scope of the zoned land tax. There will be no issue with engagement in that respect.

I repeat that key point: we cannot have it every way. As I say, we have a huge crisis, we have a challenge and then the first time the Government brings in a new initiative in respect of zoned land to bring it to the market and to get homes built, we have issues which are raised by way of objection.

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