Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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666. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated revenue that would be raised from increasing the vacant site levy to 20% based on the most recent valuation data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39933/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department proactively engages with local authorities with a view to ensuring that the vacant site levy achieves its full potential in terms of bringing concerned sites into productive use. In this regard, my Department issued Circular Letter PL 03/2021 on 8 March 2021 requesting the submission of a progress report on the collection of the levy by each local authority.

The Department received a return from each of the 31 local authorities which indicated that as of 1 January 2020 there were 215 sites with market valuations of €268m listed on local authority registers and were liable to the levy in 2021. These sites will be levied at 7% market valuation rate in 2021 unless works commenced in the interim or their inclusion on the registers is successfully appealed. Based on the information from the recent progress reports, it is estimated that the levy proceeds could be of the order of €53.6m in 2021 if it was applied at a rate of 20%.

The levy is not intended to be a revenue generating measure with the proceeds accruing to the relevant local authority rather than the Exchequer. The levy proceeds generated are specifically intended to be used by local authorities for the provision of housing and regeneration development in the local area in which vacant sites are located. No more than 10% of the levy monies received by planning authorities may be used on their administration costs in collecting the levy.