Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

Yesterday, the Government finally listened to me, to Sinn Féin and to all those who had campaigned so that the derelict sites levy would be collected by Revenue. I compliment Dr. Frank O'Connor and Ms Jude Sherry for the Trojan work they and others have done to highlight the scourge of dereliction. The Government finally brought in this levy for Revenue to collect to ensure that it was collected. For years, millions of euro have been owed to local authorities from either derelict sites that were put on the register and were levied or others that were never put on the register. We welcomed this but you cannot beat Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for the good old loophole. Just when they were on the verge of getting it right, they announced that it would be about two years before speculators, land hoarders and those who were leaving these properties derelict came in under the levy. The Minister was telling everyone at a press conference yesterday how great his plan was and about how the register of derelict sites would be set up over the next two years. One might say the Minister could be forgiven for not knowing it but the derelict sites register has been set up since 1990. That is 35 years. Every local authority has a derelict sites register. Is the Minister - or this Government - so completely incompetent that he is now going to set up a new register, reinvent the wheel and create more bureaucracy and red tape? This is typical Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. You cannot beat a bit of red tape to keep everyone happy.

There is a situation in a building like the one I am showing here. The Minister may know this building. For the next two years, no levies will be put on its owner. These are two apartments where families could be housed and where people could make a home. Instead, the building is being left derelict. This is the property of a former Minister - a presidential candidate - and it is left derelict. It is a shame and a scandal that this is allowed to happen. Just when this Government was about to fix it, it gives at least two years - if not three - before these levies will be collected and before a red cent is collected by Revenue. It is the same old, same old, when it comes to this issue. The Minister is all carrot and no stick. Why is this? There is no stick for the land hoarders, the wealthy and the speculators but yesterday in the budget there was stick for ordinary families who could not pay their heating bills or their rent and who were struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.

Finally, in the budget in 2009, €1.6 billion was given by the then Government to the Local Government Fund. Yesterday, €670 million was promised. Look at the reduction 16 years later. The Government is blaming local authorities, but the buck stops with it.

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