Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
245. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of meetings that he has held with local authority chief executives or relevant staff members to discuss collection of the derelict sites levy. [27451/22]
View answer247. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason that he believes that local authorities are not collecting the derelict sites levy. [27453/22]
View answer249. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration has been given to the transfer of responsibility for collection of the derelict sites levy to the Revenue Commissioners or another State body. [27455/22]
View answer251. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions that he is considering to improve collection of the derelict sites levy. [27457/22]
View answer252. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, as supported by the findings of the Local Government Audit Service, local authorities are postponing collection of the derelict sites levy until the sale of sites, despite no provision within legislation allowing this. [27458/22]
View answer254. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to any other state claim on individual finances that is not collected to the same extent as the derelict sites levy. [27460/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 245, 247, 249, 251, 252 and 254 together.
My Department does not hold the requested information regarding state claims under statutory schemes operated by other Government Departments or agencies. However, within my own Department and by way of comparison, derelict site levy due nationally to local authorities in 2020 (the most recent year for which data is available) was €5,448,642 of which €378,763 was collected, indicating a national collection rate of just under 7%. In the case of the vacant site levy, the demands issued nationally in 2020 totalled €21,429,540 of which €1,976,090 was collected, indicating a collection rate of just over 9%.
The foregoing data does not compare favourably with the data for the collection of commercial rates by local authorities, as collated by my Department, which for 2020 stood at 89%. However, where monies are owed under the derelict site levy, they become a charge on the land concerned under section 24 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) until they are paid.
The Act imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site.
Local authority powers include requiring owners or occupiers to take appropriate measures on derelict sites; acquiring derelict sites by agreement, or compulsorily; and applying a derelict sites levy on derelict sites. It is a matter for local authorities to determine the most appropriate use of the legislation within their respective functional areas.
The only circumstances under the Act where the derelict sites levy may be waived is on hardship grounds. The waiving of the derelict sites levy under section 26 of the Act is at the discretion of the local authority concerned. Section 23(6) of the Act further provides that a local authority may allow for payment of any levies due by instalments.
Where land entered on a local authority derelict site register, or an interest in such land, is transferred from one person to another, such as on foot of being sold, both persons involved in the transaction are required under section 29 of the Act to notify the local authority concerned of the transfer within 4 weeks of the date of transfer. When a local authority is so notified, it shall cause the appropriate entry in the register to be amended. As outlined, the levy remains a charge on the land until it is paid and is payable by the registered owner. It is an offence not to comply with this requirement.
I have not specifically met with local authority Chief Executives collectively regarding the operation of the derelict site levy but it has come up in individual engagements I have had with some of them. However, officials of my Department continue to liaise with local authorities on the implementation of the Act with a view to improving its effectiveness. In this regard, my Department initiated a review of the Act in November 2021 and has sought initial submissions from local authorities on potential improvements to the legislative provisions and the way they are applied. My Department is now in the process of establishing a focused working group to speedily progress this matter further and has been in contact with the Local Government Management Agency in relation to the nomination of relevant local authority officials to participate in this review. It would be premature to speculate on possible legislative changes and improvements in the levy collection mechanisms in advance of the completion of this review.
There is currently no proposal to replace the derelict site levy with a tax. However, action 15.2 of Housing for All commits to the introduction of a new tax to activate vacant land for residential purposes, to replace the current Vacant Site Levy. In this connection, the new Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced by the Minister for Finance in the Finance Act 2021. The purpose of the proposed measure is to incentivise the activation of land which is zoned and serviced for residential development, but remains undeveloped, thereby assisting in increasing housing output, rather than to raise revenue.
The Department of Finance is also giving consideration to a vacant property tax and is assessing the current Local Property Tax returns to ascertain the present vacancy situation. Once collated and analysed, this will provide a new data set on vacant homes.
My Department will continue to engage proactively with local authorities to ensure that all derelict site levies due are paid and that the measure can achieve its full potential.
