David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I shall conclude very quickly. I am sure the Cathaoirleach will be as reasonable with me as he was with Senator Ó Domhnaill who spoke for 13.5 minutes.

On page 9, it reads: "Every planning authority shall, before 1 June 2018." Why has that date been stipulated? Why does the initiative not commence earlier? Why not celebrate the glorious 1916 by doing something about the matter?

On page 12, section 15(2) reads: "Vacant site levy shall not be payable in respect of any land in respect of which the derelict sites levy within the meaning of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 is payable in accordance with that Act." What if it is payable but not paid? I am a bit suspicious of the word "payable."

Section 16 is on the amount of levy. Section 16(2) reads:

Where a site stands entered on the register ... if the outstanding amount of the loan is—a) greater than the market value of the vacant site, vacant site levy in respect of that site is zero per cent.

What if a developer owns the site, leaves it idle but takes a mortgage on it in order to avoid the levy? That is an obvious one.

Finally, I shall refer to section 18 due to my concern about pop-up shops. It seems to me, having read the legislation, that if an unscrupulous owner had a pop-up shop then he or she is out and free. I thank the Cathaoirleach.