Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly support the vacant site levy and compliment the former Minister of State, Senator Paudie Coffey, and the former Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly for pressing the issue. Unfortunately, the Attorney General's opinion at the time was that we had to give people a window of opportunity. I certainly wanted the levy to start at a lot more than 3%, but we are beginning to move in the right direction. Especially in urban Ireland, in many town centres, property has been hoarded, not developed.I, therefore, welcome the provision.

Earlier a Senatortouched on the following matter. For five or six weeks prior to the referendum I spent every afternoon and evening knocking on doors canvassing as part of the Repeal the Eighth campaign. My companions and I used to play a game of counting derelict houses and the winner was the person with the greatest number. It was difficult to prove that a house was derelict because the roof and windows were intact, but, to us, it was plain to see that no one had lived in a house for many years. When we talked to neighbours on either side of a derelict house, they complained about it affecting their properties in various ways. Will the Minister of State consider including a definition of derelict house as part of the Derelict Sites Act? We have developed a register for vacant homes, some of which I hope will become available again. We need to keep the pressure on in dealing with this matter because there is a huge of number of vacant or derelict houses that could easily be brought back into the housing market. Such a solution will not resolve the housing crisis, but every step taken to reduce it is helpful.

On the vacant sites register, there is a very moderate estimate that Dublin City Council owns sites in the city worth over €64 million. If that figure is correct, we need to call in local authorities to meetings to discuss the matter. Dublin City Council has been very reluctant to publish and, in fact, was late in publishing its list of vacant sites. When one reads the register, one will see that the vast majority of properties are owned by Dublin City Council, the Department of Justice and Equality, Irish Rail, etc. These are lands that badly need to be developed. I have not had time to assess how much property is owned by Fingal County Council and other councils. However, from a quick perusal of their lists, there is a considerable number of vacant sites in local authority ownership. Since 2015, we have been stating we need to build on local authority lands. There must now be a sense of urgency. When one peruses the vacant site register, one can see the value of the sites owned. I have reached the stage of calling on the chief executive officers to get on with their job or that they will be sacked. In 2015 the then Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, now Senator Paudie Coffey, and the then Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, argued strongly in favour of the provision of additional staff in local authorities in order that staff could put together the sites for which planning permission had been granted. Unfortunately, nothing has happened. Excuses only last so long and we need action now. The vacant sites register highlights how much of the State's, or taxpayers', money is tied up in these sites, yet nothing has happened.

I will not oppose the amendment as it moves in the right direction, but I would prefer if it went much further. I have great confidence in the ability of the Minister of State and know that he will consider this matter, as we share the same views on housing. We know that people should stop talking about doing things and just build the bloody things. Clearly, the vacant sites register has highlighted the lack of urgency on the part of local authorities in resolving the matter.