Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)

We have a Bill that would bring that to an end.

There is a massive issue with serviced land and serviced zoned land that has been ignored over the past while. The Government talks about an audit of that land. Is it not startling that the Government does not know how much zoned land there is in the country or how much serviced zoned land there is? The Tánaiste is saying that there is not enough, yet we have people at the head of county councils and local authorities saying that they have enough. It is incredible that we have had a housing crisis for 15 years and there is no agreement about where this zoned land is. There is serviced land that is not zoned residential. That is the low-hanging fruit when it comes to building houses quickly, and yet the Government still does not know where that is.

In the context of taxes, it is incredible that €3 billion worth of VAT was taken in from the construction of houses last year. Some €50,000 of the price of a normal house at the moment comprises VAT and other service charges. The Government reduced the VAT on apartments. Why did the Government not do that in respect of houses? There is a viability crisis. We have to make those houses viable. Why are so many builders at home sitting on their hands, unable to build in the middle of a housing crisis?

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