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Vacant Sites

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Questions (321)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

321. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the estimated full-year revenue in 2021 that would be raised by increasing the vacant site levy to 10%, 12.5%, 15% and 17.5%, respectively. [18769/20]

View answer

Written answers

My Department proactively engages with local authorities with a view to ensuring that the vacant site levy achieves its full potential in terms of bringing concerned sites into productive use. In this regard, the Department issued Circular Letter PL 08/2020 on 9 June 2020 requesting the submission of a further progress report on the implementation of the levy by each local authority.

The Department received a return from each of the 31 local authorities which indicated that as of 1 January 2020 there were 369 sites listed on local authority registers. These sites will be levied at 7% market valuation rate in 2021 unless works commence in the interim or their inclusion on the registers is successfully appealed.

The specific information sought by the Deputy in relation to the amount of the levy that would be raised in 2021 is not available in my Department as it does not have market valuation information for all of the 369 registered sites. 

However, based on the information from the recent progress reports which showed that there were 211 sites with market valuations of €237.3m listed on local authority registers on 1 January 2019 and were liable to the levy in 2020,  it is estimated that the levy proceeds nationally for 2021 could be of the order of:

- €23.7m at a rate of 10%,

- €29.6m at a rate of 12.5%,

- €35.59m at a rate of 15% and

- €41.5m at a rate of 17.5%.

As indicated, this estimate for 2021 is based on the number of sites that had market valuations attached and were liable to the levy in 2020. The number of registered sites with market valuations attached has since increased; however the information in this regard is not currently available in my Department. The inclusion of these additional sites in respect of which market valuations have since been obtained would result in a higher yield in the estimated levy proceeds nationally for 2021 than that indicated above.

The levy is not intended to be a revenue generating measure with the proceeds accruing to the relevant local authority rather than the Exchequer. The levy proceeds generated are specifically intended to be used by local authorities for the provision of housing and regeneration development in the local area in which vacant sites are located.  No more than 10% of the levy monies received by planning authorities may be used on their administration costs in collecting the levy.

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