Written answers

Thursday, 23 June 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Derelict Sites

Photo of Steven MatthewsSteven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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31. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the introduction of a derelict property tax; if any research has been carried out by his Department into this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32910/22]

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Addressing vacancy and dereliction, and maximising the use of the existing housing stock, is a priority objective of the Government, as evidenced by the recently published Housing for All - A New Housing Plan for Ireland where one of the four pathways in the plan is specifically dedicated to this area.

My Department continues to liaise with local authorities on the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act with a view to improving its effectiveness. In this regard, my Department initiated a review of the Act in November 2021 and has sought initial submissions from local authorities on potential improvements to the legislative provisions and the way they are applied. My Department is now in the process of establishing a focused working group to speedily progress this matter further and has been in contact with the Local Government Management Agency in relation to the nomination of relevant local authority officials to participate in this review.

There is currently no proposal to replace the derelict site levy with a tax. However, action 15.2 of Housing for All commits to the introduction of a new tax to activate vacant land for residential purposes, to replace the current Vacant Site Levy. In this connection, the new Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced by the Minister for Finance in the Finance Act 2021. The purpose of the proposed measure is to incentivise the activation of land which is zoned and serviced for residential development, but remains undeveloped, thereby assisting in increasing housing output, rather than to raise revenue.

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