Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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320. To ask the Minister for Finance if limitations placed on housebuilding by Irish Water in towns nationwide will be taken into consideration in the context of the imposition of a tax, following the decision to impose a levy on lands zoned for housing in towns nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63976/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Residential Zoned Land Tax is identified as action 15.2 in Housing for All to replace the Vacant Site Levy and increase housing supply through activating zoned and serviced residential development land for housing.  The RZLT is a two stage process, involving identification of land meeting the criteria for the tax on maps to be prepared by local authorities and the administration of the tax by the Revenue Commissioners.

Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 sets out the criteria for inclusion on the map.  In addition to being suitably zoned, the land must be connected or able to connect to services, including those under the remit of Irish Water such as water supply and waste water treatment.  In addition the legislation states that there must be sufficient service capacity available for such development. 

Ministerial Guidelines for Planning Authorities on the Residential Zoned Land Tax were issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) in June 2022 by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage providing guidance to local authorities on identifying and mapping land liable to the tax, including the need for interaction with key stakeholders.

I am informed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that Irish Water have engaged with all local authorities prior to the publication of the draft maps on 1 November regarding network availability and water and waste water treatment capacity for settlements.  This information was utilised by local authorities as an aid to determining which lands meet the criteria for the tax. 

In addition section 4.1.1(iii) of the Guidelines identify criteria which planning authorities should consider in determining if land is serviced or able to be serviced and whether lands benefit from available treatment capacity.  Furthermore, section 4.1.1(iv) identifies interaction with and use of information sources from Irish Water as being a key determinant regarding whether lands meet the criteria for the tax.  The planning authority are the appropriate determining authority on whether land meets the criteria based on information available to them, including from stakeholders such as Irish Water.

The draft maps indicating land subject to the tax were published by all 31 local authorities on 01 November 2022, and landowners and other interested parties could make submissions on the draft maps to the relevant local authority until 01 January 2023. This allowed an opportunity for landowners to demonstrate that land within their ownership does not meet the criteria set out within the legislation, including in relation to servicing from an Irish Water perspective. The Guidelines at Section 3.2.3 outline a legislative provision which allows for interaction with stakeholders including Irish Water as a consequence of submissions received during the public display periods, where deemed necessary. 

Where submissions raise issues regarding access to the water or waste water network or lack of available treatment capacity, the planning authority may seek further information from a stakeholder such as Irish Water to assist them in making a determination by 1 April regarding whether the land remains liable to the tax, or whether it fails to meet the relevant criteria and should be removed from the map and therefore not subject to the tax.  Where the owner of a site has made a submission by 1 January under Section 653D(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, and received a determination by 1 April under Section 653E(1)(iii) which they are aggrieved with, they may appeal the determination to An Bord Pleanala by 1 May.  The outcome of any submissions and appeals will be reflected in the final maps, which will be reviewed annually by local authorities.