Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is considering further taxation measures to address the issues of long-term vacancy, dereliction, land hoarding and property speculation in light of the severe housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23005/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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One of the most obscene aspects of the absolutely dire housing and homelessness situation we face in this country is the phenomenon of people being homeless, being crammed into overcrowded conditions and being hopeless about the possibility of ever owning their own home or getting a social house while you can see vacant property, derelict sites and speculators sitting on land or property to make money out of it anywhere you walk. Is the Minister going to take any further measures in the forthcoming budget to deal with the scandal of vacant and derelict property and speculation?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties in the housing market and the challenges this continues to present for many people and families as they seek a new home, often their first.

With regard to vacant properties, the need to address vacancy and to ensure all viable housing stock is being used is a priority for the Government. In Housing for All, the Government has set out a suite of incentives to address vacancy and the efficient use of existing stock. A vacant homes tax was announced in budget 2023 and legislated for in the Finance Act 2022. This tax is now set at five times the property’s existing base local property tax rate. The vacant homes action plan outlines the significant progress that has been made in addressing vacancy along with the actions that are being pursued to return as many vacant properties as possible to use. A range of schemes and supports have been implemented by the Government to address vacancy and bring properties back into use. These include the vacant property refurbishment grant, the repair and leasing scheme, the buy and renew scheme, the urban regeneration development fund and the compulsory purchase orders activation programme. All local authorities now have a dedicated vacant homes officer, funded by the Department of housing, ensuring a dedicated focus on tackling vacancy.

With regards to dereliction, I understand the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage continues to liaise with local authorities on the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 with a view to improving its effectiveness.

In respect of land hoarding and property speculation, there are already a number of tax measures in place that are designed to discourage such activities. These include: the vacant homes tax, which I have already outlined; the residential zoned land tax; the 10% stamp duty on the bulk acquisition of houses; and the residential development stamp duty refund scheme.

Any proposals for potential tax measures in the forthcoming budget must be assessed carefully and need to be targeted and clear in their policy intent. My Department continues to monitor all aspects of the property market and I will continue to work with my colleagues in government to ensure that any further interventions in the housing market are appropriately calibrated, represent the best use of scarce public resources and boost the supply of much-needed housing in the State.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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9 o’clock

The vacant homes tax is a failure. We learned at the beginning of this year that only €2 million was raised from it and it applied to less than 3,500 properties. That is against a background where the census showed 160,000 vacant residential dwellings, 48,000 of which were vacant in both the 2016 census and the 2022 census. We then have about 20,000 derelict properties and one just has to walk around this city to see many of them. Does it not outrage the Minister, because it certainly outrages me, to walk past empty, vacant and derelict properties or sites which could be used for housing? How can this be when there are 13,500 people homeless and tens of thousands of people crammed into overcrowded conditions? How can it possibly be that we can have apartment blocks in this category? One in front of my office in Dún Laoghaire, with perfectly refurbished units, has been sitting empty for four years.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his contribution. As he will know, I increased the vacant homes tax rate in the last budget. Just to give him the numbers, the Revenue has confirmed that as of 2 April this year, over 6,000 properties have been declared as vacant with exemptions being declared in respect of approximately 2,500 of these properties. Approximately 3,500 properties have a liability to the vacant homes tax, amounting to approximately €2 million.

Yes, there are exemptions. I am not sure which of those exemptions the Deputy would remove. Would he remove the exemption where the owner has died, where a grant of representation has been issued, where the property is actively marketed for sale or for rent, where it is the subject of a court order, where it has undergone structural works, or where it is unoccupied due to the illness of an owner?

The census provides us with some data, but it is not the only source of data in respect of this issue. The Revenue Commissioners also have access to the local property tax returns, which are a rich source of information for them when it comes to the property portfolio around the country.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister has just confirmed how much of a failure the vacant homes tax is in the context of tens and tens of thousands of vacant properties. Of course, I am for being fair to people where there is a good reason but there should be an imperative to say that by hook or by crook, this house will be brought back into use. It is obscene for that not to be the case. Yes, if somebody has a reason for leaving it empty, we should buy it off them for a fair price. If somebody is sitting on it for speculative reasons, we should tax them to the hilt and take it off them for speculating on property. The same should be done with residential zoned land, planning permissions or any of these things where speculative profiteering is taking place on the back of vacant and derelict property.

I say to the Minister that we must have a can-do attitude. We are not going to allow the scandal of vacant or derelict property, or people speculating on zoned land when we are in the teeth of an absolutely obscene housing crisis. If we have a can-do attitude, we can be fair to people but can also get the result, which is to bring back into use those vacant and derelict properties and sites which can be used for housing.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The vacant homes tax, as the Deputy knows, is targeting habitable properties. The Deputy is raising a number of other issues which are important and relevant when it comes to properties which are vacant but which in many instances are also derelict.

My colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, published the Vacant Homes Action Plan 2023-2026 and last month the progress report from April 2024. To be fair, it sets out the progress which is being made in achieving the objectives. If one takes the vacant property refurbishment grant, over 7,500 applications have been received and almost 60% of them have been approved to date. Some €150 million has been made available to local authorities under call 3 of the new Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, URDF, to tackle vacancy and dereliction by acquiring properties for reuse or sale across towns and cities. Over 900 properties have been approved for funding under this call and 11 new towns have been added to the URDF programme and can avail of funding under call 3.