Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 7: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the hoarding of development land; if he has a report on the extent of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13448/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In 2003, Goodbody Economic Consultants were engaged by my Department to carry out a study that considered factors affecting the supply of land to the housing market, including the possible hoarding of building land. There have been many discussions on this topic. The study considered previous analyses of the housing and land markets and sought possible evidence of hoarding based on case studies of three areas, two urban and one rural. The consultants' report, which is available in the Oireachtas Library, concluded there was no evidence, something which may surprise many people, that hoarding of land was a widespread problem or that there were excessive levels of land banking.

Considerable investment has been made in servicing of land and the inventory of zoned and serviced land taken in June 2005 indicates the availability of some 14,800 hectares nationwide, with an estimated yield of 460,000 housing units. The Government wishes to ensure that zoned land is used as promptly as feasible for residential purposes. Therefore legislation is being developed to give powers to planning authorities to act on a selective basis to accelerate the development of appropriate zoned land for housing.

The Government has approved the drafting, at my suggestion, of a designated land (housing development) Bill to provide for a "use it or lose it" scheme. The general scheme of the Bill provides powers for planning authorities to enter into a binding agreement with, or to impose requirements on, the owners of designated land in order to bring such land into housing development; an amended compensation mechanism whereby designated land, if not developed in agreement or accordance with requirements imposed by the relevant planning authority could be compulsorily acquired at below market value; and as a possible alternative to compulsory acquisition, provision for the imposition by planning authorities of an annual development incentive levy on designated land.

The general scheme also provides for mandatory registration of, and the imposition of a levy on, land purchase options.

Landownership alone is not at issue: people with options could be a stymieing factor. I hope the Bill, which will be comprehensive legislation, will get early passage through both Houses. Obviously, it will not be passed by this Dáil but hopefully it will be passed by the next one.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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This is quite a radical step. I agree with the Minister in respect of many of the issues he raised. The key point is, however, that the legislation has not yet been published. The principle being established is that land which is zoned for social and affordable housing and not so used can be compulsorily acquired. Perhaps the Minister will outline what will be the effect on me if, say, I own 20 acres of zoned land outside Drogheda but wish to sell it for some other purpose. For how many years must I have sat on the land before the new legal instruments come into force?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is correct. This will be a radical move. The legislation is currently being drafted. We have a long way to go to perfect it. The legislation will radically alter the situation. One can subject land to compulsory purchase order for specific purposes but one cannot do so simply because people are sitting on it. Where it is perceived the land is being sat on, which is a handy way of influencing the market, this device will be used. The Bill will dramatically change matters and will provide local authorities with significant additional powers to intervene either where people have taken land into their ownership or where people bought options in order to stymie development. I do not believe it will be necessary to use this on a wholesale basis. However, the mere fact this legislation is being introduced should give those with ideas of holding land for negative purposes pause for thought.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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We are constantly told that legislation tends not to be retrospective. The Minister tells us that sufficient land has been zoned for 460,000 housing units and it cannot be interfered with. Servicing land is obviously a key issue and the Minister referred to the hoarding of land. A balance must be achieved between the industrial and residential use of land. For example, Intel has a huge capacity for water because it is a wet industry. It is important to find the balance between housing and industrial development in order keep people in one area. We must examine resources in that respect. Local authorities often over-zone land to 1.5 times or twice the projected requirements because they wish to resist the possibility of land hoarding.

Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy should put a question.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Given that there is such limited availability of water, as well as limited waste-water treatment capacity, does the Minister consider it advisable for local authorities to be over-zoning land?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Does the Minister agree the CPO mechanism could also be used to preserve space? We have seen the example of Dartmouth Square and such areas are becoming more essential by the day as our cities run out of green space. Does the Minister agree it is now necessary to use that mechanism to purchase compulsorily some institutional lands in order to preserve green spaces?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Bill does not deal with the latter point but it certainly deals with the point raised by Deputy Catherine Murphy. In the lifetime of this Government we, that is, the taxpayers, have created equivalent water treatment capacity, for sewerage purposes, for an additional 3 million people. If my memory serves me correctly, drinking water capacity has been created for an additional 1.25 million people. Given that there has been a massive investment in such projects by taxpayers, it is important that their purpose cannot be stymied by hoarding land. On the other hand, the Deputy is right in saying that local authorities tend to over-zone. They do so for a positive reason, so people will not have an easy stranglehold on land. In the recent past, however, some local authorities have gone way over the top. I reluctantly intervened in two cases because of substandard planning — in one case to strike down the county development plan and in the other to issue warnings that I would strike down the plan. I do not like the idea of Ministers intervening directly but the law is the law and if people behave improperly by excessive use of zoning, it must be curtailed.

The legislation will answer the long-standing debate we have had since the Kenny report was published. As regards Deputy O'Dowd's point, I believe it will have the effect of demonstrating that the Houses of the Oireachtas are anxious to ensure that people who have significant amounts of land are not tempted to interfere with the housing market by sitting on it. I hope it is passed early in the next Dáil.