Mary Lou McDonald: Act Now on Dereliction, No More Delays

Taoiseach, you are failing to tackle the scourge of dereliction. Every day people pass homes and buildings and derelict sites in their communities, houses left to rot while land hoarders and speculators get off scot-free. And I can't tell you how angry and demoralised people seeking a home feel when they see all of this. Not to mention the impact on our cities, on our towns and villages. Rows of derelict homes, magnets for dumping, for rats, for other anti-social behaviour, symbols of decay. And volunteers who keep neighbourhoods clean, community groups, sporting organisations without a base all look on in anger. The Housing Minister announced what he called a war on dereliction in October of last year. And this was followed by Simon Harris announcing and re-announcing plans for a new derelict property tax, plenty of soundbites, plenty of press releases and big promises. And today, finally, Simon Harris brings his tax proposal to Cabinet. And so the questions that people will be asking are these. Is this the big step forward so badly required? Does this bring the necessary pace to tackle dereliction head on? And the answer to both those questions is no. Because the tax won't come into effect until 2027. Collection of the tax may not start until 2028. And today we learn that the tax will not apply to the entire state, but only to places with populations of 4,000 people or more. So this phased approach means that thousands of derelict properties will not be captured by the tax in its initial phase. So Taoiseach, if the government is serious about dealing with the blight of dereliction, urgency is what's required. You have to put it up to those responsible for dereliction with legislation, with serious financial penalties that will get homes and buildings back into use. Sitting back, pushing your derelict property tax out for another two years is not the mark of a government that is intent on getting the job done. And I think it's incredible that there's nothing in Simon Harris' proposal to ensure the collection of the more than 30 million euro already owed in derelict site levies. We told you this money wasn't being collected. We told you that the local authorities didn't have the capacity to collect it. We gave you the solutions. But instead, you gift a multi-million euro amnesty to land hoarders. Ní lór de leithíoracht maith agaibh feirgnaibh tréacha, caithfíon ríochtas go níobhú go práineach agus go héabhacht chun dul in leith leisi gearth agus chun téa agus feirgnaibh agus feirgnaibh agus feirgnaibh. It is time to get serious on dereliction. We need a derelict property tax with real teeth. We need to penalise property hoarding. We need to incentivise homes and buildings being reoccupied. Property hoarders who aren't playing ball must be hit hard. The tax should be introduced now and ratcheted up doubled every year. And of course you have to ensure that every last cent owed by property hoarders is collected. You hoard property, you pay the price. You don't simply get to walk away. That is what urgency, that's what ambition looks like and that and that alone is what will bring thousands of homes back into use. Thank you Deputy. Taoiseach please. Well first of all I would dispute what the Deputy has said and your analysis and presentation of it because first of all dealing with vacancy and dereliction is a multi-stranded and must involve a multi-stranded approach and as far back as 2022 the government introduced what I would consider to have been a game changing initiative in terms of the vacant property refurbishment grant and the which provides now up to 50,000 for vacant properties and up to 70,000 for derelict properties. And since its launch in 2022, 17,486 applications have been received, over 13,000 have been approved, 285 million has been paid out by Q1 of this year and over 5,300 vacant or derelict homes returned to use. Now that is proactive going at this in a very significant and pragmatic way and it has yielded results. And then we have the new vacant above the shop grant which was introduced last April. That provides up to 140,000 to convert vacant upper floor commercial space into housing alongside a 5,000 expert advice grant. We have regeneration and local authority action. The government has allocated 150 million through the urban regeneration development fund to tackle vacancy and dereliction and about 142.5 million has already been allocated and 1,300 plus properties approved for intervention. Dublin City Council has received 10 million with approximately 9 million still available for deployment. And that's where local authorities can acquire vacant or derelict properties, carry out works and return them to productive use or sale. And also in terms of the town centre first policy, which is a significant initiative to support community led regeneration and reuse of vacant buildings in towns across Ireland. And if you look at Capiquin and Waterford, it's a good illustration. It has gone from 33 derelict properties to 11 in five years through a plan from Capiquin Development Association, supported with investment from the Department of Community, Rural and Development and the Gaelic Town and Village Renewal Scheme and Rural Development Fund. And likewise, in terms of our support of local authorities in terms of vacant housing, the local authority vacancy rate is now 2.75% at the end of 2024. It had been at 3.8% prior to that. That's the national residential vacancy rates. We've made a lot of progress in terms of social housing, from 3.18% down to 2.75%. And in terms of the derelict property tax, the government took a decision last year to change and to take over from local authorities the function to move it from a levy to a tax to be implemented by revenue. And I would appreciate your support for it. You're indicating that you're going to support it wholeheartedly. It does need legislation. It will be legislated for in this year's Finance Act. But a lot of work has to happen and is happening to make sure it's accurate, comprehensive and up to date. And I heard your comment, and there's a tendency always for you and others to be all things to all people. But you're saying that local authorities didn't have the capacity. They did have the capacity. The reason we're moving this to revenue is because local authorities have not succeeded at all in terms of implementing the Derelict Sites Act as it was fashioned. And some local authorities did. And when you look at Limerick and others, you see that they had the capacity to do it. Others just didn't bother. I mean, I don't want to be criticizing people for the sake of it. But the bottom line is this. On another day in this house, people will decry the lack of devolved authority and government in Ireland. But here is an area where local authorities really didn't go after it in any effective way. And that has to be said and articulated. And there's no point in us doing everything we can to stop this. And it's too late to do that. So according to the census, there's anything up to 180,000 vacant and derelict properties across the state. That cannot stand at any time, particularly in the grip of such a serious housing crisis. And the failure to collect that more than 30 million euros in the Derelict Sites Levy speaks to an ambivalence or certainly a slowness on the part of government. So let me just repeat for you the problems that need to be solved. Firstly, delaying the introduction of this tax, which we absolutely recognize is necessary, Taoiseach. Absolutely necessary. Delaying its introduction until 2027. The collection of it until 2028. And then saying that it will only apply to places with populations of more than 4,000 people. None of that makes sense. At a time when you need immediate, comprehensive action. And the level, by the way, of tax, the financial penalty has to be significant and ought to be ratcheted up against those who don't play ball. I appreciate your support for the government's initiative on the tax front. It has not been delayed. In many ways, what's happening here is illustrative of the inaction and the absence of a comprehensive database to bring in a tax in the first instance. And that's what the work that's ongoing between the Department of Housing and the Department of Finance. Local authorities had a derelict site for decades. And there is deficiencies in terms of identifying all of the properties that come under dereliction now. Not necessarily vacancy, because not all vacant properties are derelict. We have to make that point. And so this is going to be done properly, comprehensively, and to ensure that there's a very defined and precise database there to enable the tax to be levelled by revenue. We do everything we can to accelerate this. There is no delaying of this in any shape or form. And it will be legislated for in the forthcoming Finance Act, which it has to be legislated for. And I welcome your support for it. Thank you.