Amendments Nos. 1, 8 and 9 are related and will be discussed together.
Tailte Éireann Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 5, line 20, after “provisions” to insert “and for the repeal of different enactments or provisions of enactments effected by section 5”.
These are technical amendments to existing schedules for appealing certain enactments.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 2:
“In page 7, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following:
“Report on the establishment of a Land Price Register
8. The Minister shall, not later than 3 months after the passing of this Act, commission and publish a report on the establishment of a Land Price Register to be operated by Tailte Éireann which would—
(a) expand the register that records residential property sales prices,
(b) establish a new land and other non-residential property transaction database,
(c) set out in detail all other key considerations.”.”
Amendment No. 2 is on the issue of a land price register, which should be a key function of Tailte Éireann. It seeks to ensure that if this amendment was passed, no later than three months after passing the Bill, a report on the establishment of a land price register would be published. In the US, since 2000 the price of land has increased at a much faster rate than the consumer price index or even the price of housing itself. The collapse in the price of land after the great global recession more than a decade ago was also much sharper than the collapse in the other prices. We can see from the data that is available in the US that one of the key drivers of house price inflation has been linked to sharp increases in the price of land.
My point in telling the Minister of State about the US is that we know of this data in the US. This information is freely available in the US because of the US land price index. There is no such equivalent register index or data available in Ireland. We do not have transparency around land prices or developers’ margins and we do not have the information we need to tackle the cost of delivering housing. We do not have the information we need to help end land hoarding and land speculation.
At the moment, according to the Government, there is 8,000 ha of zoned land available for housing that is sitting unused and on which more than 250,000 homes could be built. A land price register would help to provide the data that is required for an effective land hoarding tax. In whose interests is it that we do not have this information and that it has not been made transparent? I ask this especially in the context of the housing disaster we have at the moment, where we have the highest ever house prices, the highest ever rents and the highest ever number of people in homeless emergency accommodation. Huge numbers of young people are emigrating and are stuck living in their parents’ homes well into their 30s and we do not have transparency around this. I would ask that the Minister of State would accept this amendment.
This proposed amendment by Deputy Cian O’Callaghan relates to the information that is to be collected and made available by Tailte Éireann under a new section 8. I understand the intention of this amendment is that Tailte Éireann would commission a report to explore the feasibility of expanding the register to include an additional set of land and non-residential property information.
The intention of this Bill is to bring about the merger of the Property Registration Authority, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Valuation Office, which includes the transfer of the current functions of these bodies into Tailte Éireann. It is not envisaged at this point to expand the current functions of the existing bodies during the merger process. However, there is already scope under the legislation for the Minister to call for reports and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to legislate for a specific report such as that which was outlined in Deputy O’Callaghan’s proposal.
Under section 10 of this Bill, the board of Tailte Éireann will have the statutory power to generally guide the strategic direction of Tailte Éireann and to advise or make recommendations having regard to Government policy. The Civil Service Renewal 2030 programme includes the ambition to develop and deliver trusted evidence and insights to inform public policy which advance the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of Ireland.
Improved data quality, analysis and sharing can improve the evidence base for policy development and can drive more seamless delivery. The pathways in Housing for All address challenges in our housing system; however, these do not exist in isolation but sit in a wider context.
Under Housing for All, the Government's housing plan to 2030, my Department is committed to evidence-based policy development and will continue to improve data availability and analysis. The Government recently published its first annual update of the plan's actions, which sets out how the Government is responding to changed circumstances in ensuring that focus remains on delivery. Under action 24.2 of the progress report, the Government has committed to developing a national zoned housing land register based on local authority development plans, including the potential housing yield or capacity, with a targeted delivery timeframe of quarter 1 of 2023. This register can also form the basis for the associated calculation of land use values required for land value sharing measures. Therefore, while I note the benefits of evidence to supporting policy development, such as the measures in the Deputy's proposal, the appropriate time for considering these matters is following the establishment of Tailte Éireann and the appointment of the board.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is great that the Government supports and is committed to data and to the evidence-based policymaking that we can engage in thanks to data, but given that this amendment would not create a land price register and would only create a situation in which there would be a report on the matter, why not commit to that now? The Minister of State made the point that this provision did not need to be in the legislation because the Minister could ask for such a report anyway. I have been raising this matter for quite some time with the Government. Is the Minister of State giving a commitment that, after the Bill's enactment, the Minister will seek a report on a land price register?
I recall that the Deputy has raised this matter a considerable number of times. It is an important point and I can give a commitment that the Minister will give consideration to it. However, the important element is the establishment of Tailte Éireann first. I believe the Minister will then give consideration to the Deputy's request.
I thank the Minister of State for his comments, but "consideration" is no good, so I will be pressing the amendment.
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 57; Níl, 68; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Barry, Mick.
- Berry, Cathal.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Browne, Martin.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Cairns, Holly.
- Canney, Seán.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Joan.
- Collins, Michael.
- Cronin, Réada.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Pa.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Gould, Thomas.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Harkin, Marian.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Kerrane, Claire.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Munster, Imelda.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Murphy, Verona.
- Mythen, Johnny.
- Nash, Ged.
- Naughten, Denis.
- Nolan, Carol.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Pringle, Thomas.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Ryan, Patricia.
- Sherlock, Sean.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tully, Pauline.
- Whitmore, Jennifer.
- Wynne, Violet-Anne.
Níl
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Colm.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carey, Joe.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Collins, Niall.
- Costello, Patrick.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Donnelly, Stephen.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Duffy, Francis Noel.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Flaherty, Joe.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Foley, Norma.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Harris, Simon.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Leddin, Brian.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Catherine.
- Matthews, Steven.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McGuinness, John.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Noonan, Malcolm.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Joe.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Gorman, Roderic.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Ring, Michael.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Smyth, Ossian.
- Stanton, David.
- Troy, Robert.
- Varadkar, Leo.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Eoin Ó Broin; Níl, Deputies Jack Chambers and Brendan Griffin.
Amendment declared lost.
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 8, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:
“Timeframe for valuation of commercial property
9. Tailte Éireann shall, within 4 months of the substantial completion of a commercial unit, assess the Net Annual Value of the property and set a valuation in line with rental values at the specified valuation so that commercial rates may be applied.”.
This amendment relates to the Valuation Office and the length of time it takes to value commercial units. Often, housing developments which could have been described as newer, though many of them now are built out ten or 15 years, have a considerable level of vacancy in the commercial units. I have stated before that some are in my constituency, in areas like Clongriffin, but the level of vacancy is a national issue. Incredibly, the Valuation Office has not valued the empty units for commercial rates ten, 12 or 15 years on. This is significant because local authorities no longer provide a full exemption on empty commercial premises. They charge a level of rates on them to encourage a commercial or meanwhile use. If it is not commercially viable and there is no meanwhile or community use a unit can be put to and which could contribute to this vacancy rates bill, it forces the question of whether there is an oversupply of commercial units. Do some of these units need to be converted to residential use? Could they be converted to such use if they are on the ground floor? There are issues with that because there must be enough services and a balance of uses in any large new development. However, if a valuation is done, it helps move this along in terms of insufficient housing supply and insufficient commercial, meanwhile or community uses in developments that are not complete.
It is unacceptable that the Valuation Office, more than ten years on in many areas, has not valued these commercial units. That is a logjam that is holding this up. If the Minister of State does not propose to accept my amendment, although I hope he does, how will the Government address this issue? What will the Valuation Office do to ensure we are not in this position in a decade's time, with places not being valued for rates?
I cannot accept this amendment. Section 28(5) of the Valuation Act 2001, as amended, provides for the completion of revision applications within six months of the making of a valid application. The section has not yet been commenced. The Valuation Office is mindful of the backlog of revision cases from local authorities and third parties. Measures to address the backlog effectively need to be in place before section 28(5) can be commenced. Options to address the backlog continue to be considered and the Valuation Office will continue to engage with my Department to find a way to ultimately allow for section 28(5) to be commenced and adhered to.
I thank the Minister of State for that reply. I can understand why section 28(5) has not been commenced given the serious backlog. This is not a backlog; this is ten years late and it has not been done. I accept this is only part of the solution and not the entire solution, but it would help move things along.
Communities are left with a sense of incompletion and with vacancy, which can lead to dereliction. This is often in the heart of the residential area, maybe where there are commercial units or shops opened, and some other amenities and facilities. It can be where transport hubs are located and people get off buses and trains. To be left a decade later with all this vacancy is completely unacceptable. It takes the heart out of these areas and means they do not have the vibrancy, vitality or completion they need.
Children who were not born when their parents moved into these areas are now moving into their teens with this vacancy continuing in their area. What is being done to address the backlog? What commitments can the Minister of State give that the Government is taking this issue seriously and providing resources to quickly deal with the backlog? We need this to be done to achieve fairness for these communities. It is part of the solution and could identify and free up areas to be converted to residential uses. That would have an impact on the housing crisis.
I accept the valid points made by the Deputy on community needs and urban regeneration, which is critical. The Valuation Office is engaged in a national revaluation programme, the immediate objective of which is to ensure the first revaluation of commercial and industrial properties in all rating authority areas in over 160 years is conducted across the country as soon as possible and on a phased basis. Substantial progress has been made in this regard. The latest part of the programme is known as Reval 2023 and comprises revaluation of rateable properties in the rating authority areas of Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where it will be the second revaluation, as well as Galway, Kerry and Mayo county councils and Galway City Council. This is due to be completed in 2023 and, following this, Cork city and county councils are the remaining local authority areas to be revalued for the first time.
The Valuation Office has endeavoured to progress the national revaluation programme in tandem with providing an effective revision service. In recent years, a backlog of revision cases has developed. The Valuation Office has taken steps to address this, including outsourcing revision work to a third-party provider. The outsourcing has supported the Valuation Office in its revision work.
To eliminate the backlog of revision applications is an objective of the Valuation Office's strategic plan 2021-23. In the Valuation Office's oversight and delivery agreement with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, quarter 4 of 2022 is the target date for finalising plans to commence section 28(5).
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on Valuation Office services, including revision services. There were periods during the pandemic when inspections of properties were not possible due to restrictions. Part of the national revaluation programme, now known as Reval 2023, was originally commenced with a valuation date of September 2019. On foot of the pandemic, the valuation date is set for 1 February 2022. This has necessitated the Valuation Office recalibrating its valuations for this revaluation.
The Valuation Tribunal, an independent body set up for the purpose of hearing appeals against determinations of the Valuation Office, has increased the volume of appeals it is processing. In responding to the increased volume of appeals being processed, the Valuation Office has had to increase the resources applied to this task.
The Valuation Office is mindful of the backlog of revision cases from local authorities and third parties. Measures to address this backlog effectively need to be in place before section 28(5) can be addressed. Options to address it continue to be considered and the Valuation Office will continue to engage with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to find a way to ultimately allow section 28(5) to be commenced and adhered to.
We want to tackle vacancy and dereliction. There is also the environmental waste of building new buildings. They contain all that embodied carbon and then for them to sit empty and not be put to use is hugely wasteful from an environmental point of view. Is addressing this something the Government is committed to? Are the Valuations Office and Tailte Éireann, when it is set up, going to be told to prioritise vacancy in these newer developments which has been going on for over a decade, partially because valuations have not taken place? I am sure that the Minister of State will agree that it is unacceptable to have vacancy and dereliction in the country at all, and to have it in newer developments where good buildings, facilities and infrastructure have been put in place is completely unacceptable. Will the Minister of State tell us that it is a priority for the Valuations Office now and that it will be a priority for Tailte Éireann?
I can absolutely say that it is a priority for the Valuations Office and will be for Tailte Éireann. I agree wholeheartedly. This is an issue not just in large urban centres but right across the country including in towns like my own of Kilkenny. Properties that have been built in very recent times are lying vacant and could be put to productive use. They could be readapted for housing or to manage the current refugee crisis. We really need to seize those opportunities. We are giving an assurance that this will go towards addressing that problem.
Amendment put and declared lost.
I move amendment No. 4
In page 17, line 31, to delete “under this subsection” and substitute “under subsection (1)”.
This amendment seeks to correct the drafting, which requires section 25(3) to refer to an order made under subsection (1).
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 26, line 38, to delete “and”.
This is a drafting provision.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 26, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:
“(e) in section 56(2), by the substitution of “revision manager” for “revision officer” in each place where it occurs,”.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 7:
In page 26, line 41, to delete “part”.” and substitute the following:
“part”,
(f) in section 67A, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):
“(6) The production to a court or Tailte Éireann of a certificate issued under subsection (4), purporting to state the value of a property determined under subsection (2), shall, without proof of the signature of the person duly authorised to issue such a certificate, be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proven, of the matters stated in the certificate.”,
and
(g) in section 67B, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):
“(4) The production to a court or Tailte Éireann of a certified copy extract of a valuation list issued under subsection (1), purporting to be an extract of a valuation list, shall, without proof of the signature of the person duly authorised to certify such a copy extract, be sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proven, of the matters stated in the document.”.”.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 31, to delete lines 3 to 5 and substitute the following:
"
|
No. 13 of 2001 |
Valuation Act 2001 |
Sections 9, other than subsections (2) and (11), 10(2) and (3), 11, 41, 68 and 69 |
".
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 9:
In page 31, to delete lines 6 and 7 and substitute the following:
|
No. 43 of 2001 |
Ordnance Survey Ireland Act 2001 |
Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 11 to 30 |
Amendment agreed to.
Bill, as amended, received for final consideration and passed.