Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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16. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to the passing of Second Stage of the Urban Regeneration and Housing (Amendment) Bill 2018, if his Department will work with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government with a view to enabling the Bill to be enacted as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39098/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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As outlined during the 2nd Stage debate on the Urban Regeneration and Housing (Amendment) Bill 2018 introduced by Deputy Wallace which, among other things, proposes a number of amendments to the vacant site levy provisions, the Government shares the same overall objective as the Deputy regarding the need to tackle land hoarding and ensure that vacant under-utilised sites are brought back into productive use for housing and other development.

In this regard, a number of Government reforms have already been advanced that address many elements contained in that Bill. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018, enacted on 19 July last, introduced amendments to the vacant site levy provisions which collectively aim to further strengthen these provisions.  In line with the commitment in Budget 2018, the principal amendment was to increase the rate of levy from 3% to 7% for sites on the vacant site register for the year 2019 onwards.

With a view to further addressing the broader issue of land hoarding, the 2018 Act also amends existing provisions in the planning code relating to the extension of duration of planning permission with the aim of ensuring that planning permissions are activated earlier and that the development works are completed earlier.

However, as indicated in the debates, significant concerns remain in relation to the Deputy's Bill, primarily relating to legal and constitutional issues, which will require further detailed examination during pre-legislative scrutiny before it can advance further.  I expect that these issues can be further explored during the Oireachtas pre-legislative scrutiny process pertaining to Private Member Bills.