I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend and extend the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and to provide for related matters.
I have spent much time over the past 13 years as a public representative, particularly the past two years as a Deputy, raising the issue of dereliction. I have walked around the dereliction in Cork, met with local authorities, raised it in this Chamber and questioned witnesses at the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. So often I have heard the same phrases from those in positions to resolve dereliction. They include “dereliction is complicated”, “there is no one solution” and “it requires a lot of manpower”. Yet there is a tool available to local authorities that could actually have a significant impact on their ability to tackle dereliction.
The Derelict Sites Act was introduced in 1990. A key tool in this Act is the derelict sites levy. It is not an optional tax. It was supposed to be a fine paid by land hoarders for leaving homes to rot. There are properties that have been on the derelict sites register since it was established. We are talking about properties that have been sitting on the register empty and rotting for at least 32 years and in some cases, for far longer. Many local authorities have failed to do their job by not putting sites on the register and not collecting the levy. Successive Governments have turned a blind eye because they did not care or did not want to know. They have always preferred to line the pockets of developers than to tackle land hoarders and speculators who are at the heart of the dereliction problem. In 2021, 19 local authorities did not collect a single red cent in derelict sites levies. Some of these councils are owed well in excess of €100,000. Overall, local authorities collected on average 32% of the amounts levied. There is still an outstanding debt of over €12 million that needs to be collected.
This is a significant improvement on where we were in 2020 when local authorities collected less than 7% of the amounts levied on average. This shows the impact those of us working on dereliction are having. We have seen very significant progress in Cork City Council's collection of the levy. We are still not there but people like Jude Sherry and Frank O'Connor and others are raising the issue of dereliction and this is starting to make a difference. However, the reality is that there is still €12 million in untapped revenue in this State. This is money sitting in the pockets of speculators and land hoarders that could be used to transform derelict Ireland. If local authorities collected the full levy, this additional money could be transformative. We know that the sites on the register are only a drop in the ocean of dereliction. Galway County Council, for example, has only one site on its register.
That is not a true reflection of the situation in Galway. Full collection of the levy means extra resourcing for inspecting sites to value them and put them on the register. This legislation is a simple tool to increase accountability, transparency and collection of levies. Ultimately, we want to stop people leaving homes to rot.
This Bill will require local authorities that collect less than 75% of the levies owed to produce a comprehensive report. In this report, they will need to outline how they will collect the outstanding levies and why they did not collect them in the first place. The Minister will have to respond. This means we will finally have answers. If local authorities need more resources, it will be in black and white and will be the responsibility of the Minister.
People are right that there is no one solution to dereliction. This Bill will not resolve it but will be a step forward and another tool in the belt of those of us who want to end dereliction. We are in the middle of a housing crisis. We have tens of thousands of families, workers and young people without a secure home or accommodation. We have hundreds of thousands of people locked out of long-term home ownership. It is time to stop dereliction and stop homes lying idle. This is a way to help solve the housing crisis and end dereliction.
