Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

With regard to amendment No. 41, I am getting a signal from the Minister that he is willing to engage between now and Report Stage. That would be useful. Those data are crucial, whether they are put in a report laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas or before the Oireachtas joint committee. There is a piece the Minister did not address but he said there was no problem in providing information. I expect he will engage with the part of that information on issues where there are sales and resales. They are the specific pieces I am seeking in amendment No. 41. First there is the question of when things are being commenced, then there is the question of whether they are being sold on and the other question specifically relates to the role of real estate investment trusts, REITs, because REITs are one of the signals whereby we can know what is happening. It may be that the information comes with a caveat and that perhaps REITs own it, they have full occupancy and they are not being sold on, but it is still important and useful information because it tells us what is happening in the market.

As regards the vacant property tax, I am glad the Minister mentioned the intention in that regard. However, an opportunity was missed, and consciously missed, because I proposed an amendment to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, for the local property tax legislation when it went through. There was a specific clause inserted which provided that while information was being gathered in respect of vacant properties it would only be used for statistical analysis and not for any other purposes. That set the clock back on us being able to use that information appropriately for instituting a vacant property tax. It appears that a vacant property tax will require a new process of going around. We need to start building it in now. We must have a timeline on the vacant property tax and we should not be missing opportunities such as a local property tax review. That was the opportunity to introduce proper measurements that could be used to follow with a vacant property tax in the new year. However, the way it was framed was very much about using this round of the local property tax as the gathering of general statistical information as to whether there are vacant properties. Frankly, we know there are vacant properties, and the Minister has acknowledged it, so it is a pity that we are not further along on the vacant property tax. Until we have something like a hard timeline for a vacant property tax being introduced, and it needs to be in the next six to 12 months, we must press for specific measures on vacant properties in any large-scale housing developments that are going through.

I will withdraw amendment No. 40. I will table it again with a 24-month timeline. Let us hope we have a vacant property tax by then.