Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on further sanctions and disincentives against land hoarding and speculation in development land, such as some form of site value tax; his further views on whether the vacant site tax is unlikely to be effective. [33407/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue annual notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018 in respect of vacant sites on the register on 1 January 2018. The levy will be applied by planning authorities, commencing on 1 January 2019 in respect of sites which were vacant and on the vacant site register during the year 2018 and will subsequently be applied on an annual basis thereafter, as long as a site remains on the vacant site register in the preceding year.

Planning authorities are empowered to apply an annual vacant site levy of 3% of the market value of vacant sites which exceed 0.5 hectares in area - with reduced or zero rates of levy applying in specific circumstances – and which, in the planning authority’s opinion, were vacant or idle in the preceding year, in areas identified by the planning authority in its development plan or local area plan for residential or regeneration development. The 3% rate of vacant site levy is consistent with the rate applied to derelict sites under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and is considered reasonable, without being over-punitive, for the purposes of incentivising the activation of such sites for residential or regeneration purposes.

All levies due on an individual site will remain a charge on the land concerned until all outstanding levies due are paid. Accordingly, under the vacant site levy provisions, there will be a cumulative effect associated with not activating a site for development purposes for each year that a site remains vacant or idle.

In addition, with regard to addressing the issue of the hoarding of residentially zoned land, a number of amendments to the provisions relating to the extension of duration of planning permissions have been tabled in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016, which is currently at Dáil Report Stage. The amendments proposed are collectively aimed at tightening up the provisions in relation to the extension of duration of planning permissions and ensuring that extensions of duration, without commencing substantial development, will no longer be facilitated.

As the Deputy will be aware, I have initiated a focused review of Rebuilding Ireland, which I will be aiming to conclude in September. The purpose of the review is to identify any further measures that may be necessary to build on the progress already made and underpin momentum in the months and years ahead.

Taxation issues are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Finance.