Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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251. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of landowners issued with notices under the vacant sites levy by local authority; the number of landowners subject to the vacant site levy by local authority in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26074/18]

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. Planning authorities have issued notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June this year in respect of vacant sites included on their respective registers on 1 January 2018, indicating that the levy will apply to those sites on 1 January 2019.

My Department does not maintain a central register of vacant sites as each local authority administers the vacant site register in respect of their functional area. As provided for under the Act, the register in respect of each local authority is available for inspection at its offices and online on its website.

On foot of a recent review of the on-line vacant site registers across all local authority areas, I understand that there are collectively approximately 230 individual sites currently on the local registers. Of these, just under 190 sites were entered on the local vacant site registers on 1 January 2018 and will therefore be subject to the levy in 2019, unless development works are activated in the interim.

My Department will continue to monitor implementation of the levy to ensure that it is being fully used, in line with its intended purpose of incentivising the development of vacant or under-utilised sites in urban areas and so that the full potential of the measure can be realised.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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252. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of landowners issued notices under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 by local authority; the number of landowners subject to a derelict sites levy by local authority in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26075/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The specific information sought regarding the number of landowners subject to the derelict sites levy by local authority is not readily available in my Department.

However, my Department collects details, on an annual basis in respect of the previous calendar year, which includes information regarding the number of notifications issued to owners of derelict sites, and the number of derelict sites levied in each local authority area. This information is available on the basis of each city and county council for the period 2013-2015; the details for 2016 are being compiled. Under section 8(5) of the Derelict Sites Act, a copy of the derelict sites register for any local authority can be inspected at the offices of that authority during office hours.

The position from 2013 to end of 2015 in respect of both 1) the number of notifications issued to owners, and 2) the number of derelict sites levied, as notified to my Department, is set out in the following table:

*Data for the entire functional area of Cork County Council is not available in my Department