I must now deal with a deferred division relating to amendment No. 1 in the name of the Minister for Finance to the motion regarding a vacant homes tax. On Wednesday, 19 April 2023, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 80(2), that division must be taken now.
Vacant Homes Tax: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
The following motion was moved by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan on Wednesday, 19 April 2023:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— Ireland's housing crisis continues to have a devastating impact on people's lives and life choices;
— bringing vacant homes back into use is one of the quickest and most sustainable ways to increase the supply of housing;
— high levels of vacancy in homes around Ireland have been identified by the GeoDirectory, the Central Statistics Office (based on metered electricity consumption), and the most recent Census;
— the rate of annual house price inflation for 2022 was 7.8 per cent;
— rents around the country are at all-time high levels, and levels of available rental supply have collapsed;
— across the country it was more expensive to buy a house in 2022 than it was in 2007, the previous house price peak;
— the Government targets for social and affordable housing are too low, and have been missed three years in a row; and
— in February 2023 11,742 people, including 3,373 children, accessed emergency accommodation;
further notes that:
— while the Minister for Finance announced the introduction of a Vacant Homes Tax in his Budget 2023 statement on 27th September, 2022, this tax will be charged at a derisory rate of 0.3087 per cent of the value of the property;
— such a low tax rate will have minimal effect on behaviour at a time when annual house price inflation is running at several times the rate of this tax, thereby allowing speculators with vacant properties to continue to profit significantly;
— the effect of the Vacant Homes Tax in 2022 on a vacant house valued at €305,000 (the prevailing median house price in Ireland) would have been to allow the owner to profit by around €22,500;
— despite the stated goal of this tax being to increase the supply of homes, it will fail to unlock the high number of vacant homes across the country; and
— this situation amounts to this Government continuing to reward speculators who leave habitable homes vacant during a housing crisis and is no more than a pretence at meaningful action; and
calls on the Government to:
— implement a serious Vacant Homes Tax with teeth;
— change the rate of the Vacant Homes Tax from 0.3087 per cent to a rate of 10 per cent;
— enforce the tax in a way that will unlock the potential of vacant homes in Ireland and encourage property owners with a vacant property to rent it, use it, or sell it; and
— substantially increase the penalties for failing to comply with the Vacant Homes Tax.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes that:
— addressing vacancy issues and making the best use of existing housing stock is essential in light of the current housing crisis; and
— the Government has developed a multifaceted approach to addressing the issue, and the Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) is one part of a wider suite of measures set out in Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland;
recalls that:
— the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage published the Vacant Homes Action Plan 2023-2026 earlier this year, which outlines progress, and details new actions that will be implemented to continue to return as many vacant properties back to use as soon as possible, increasing the supply of housing available, and revitalising local communities;
— measures already taken by the Government include expanding the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant; funding full-time vacant homes officers in every local authority, exemptions to planning permissions to convert vacant commercial premises to residential use, and enhancing the Nursing Homes Support/Fair Deal Scheme to incentivise the selling or renting of unused homes;
— the action plan includes a €150 million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties and sites for re-use or sale and a new local authority-led programme is being developed to help them buy or compulsory purchase vacant homes in their areas and resell them on the open market; and
— the Government is building on the initial success of the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund vacant property refurbishment scheme and will change the eligibility date for properties to include properties built prior to 2007, and to include properties which are made available for rent and not just owner occupied, with effect from 1st May, 2023;
further notes that:
— reported levels of vacancy captured in Local Property Tax returns are low across all counties and lie within the range that is considered to be in line with a functioning housing market;
— increasing housing supply, is key to improving our housing system and eradicating homelessness, with almost 30,000 homes built last year, an increase of 45 per cent from 2021 (20,560) and 41 per cent from 2019 (21,134), and 5,250 or 21 per cent higher than the Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland target of 24,600 for 2022;
— a record €4.5 billion in State housing investment in 2023 will ensure the substantial uplift in supply in 2022 can be maintained and exceeded, with 9,100 direct build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes to be delivered; and
— a total of 9,169 social homes were delivered in 2021, and furthermore, in 2020 and 2021, more than €88 million was spent in bringing 6,032 vacant social homes back into use;
recognises that:
— this is a new measure with the first returns for VHT due in November 2023 and payment of the tax due on 1st January, 2024;
— the rate of three times a property's base Local Property Tax (LPT) charge, payable in addition to the annual LPT charge, is considered an appropriate level which represents a considerable financial penalty to those who leave properties vacant, and will incentivise property owners to bring such properties back into use;
— the penalty and enforcement regime for VHT is fully aligned with Revenue's tax compliance framework for all taxes and duties that are under its care and management; and
— the legislation underpinning the tax provides for a register of vacant homes to be established and maintained by the Revenue Commissioners; and the collection of data with regard to vacant homes and the maintenance of the register will allow changes in the number of vacant properties to be monitored over time; and
acknowledges therefore that the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners will monitor the VHT as it comes into operation and the Minister for Finance will have no hesitation in reviewing the measure including the rate and how it operates in future budgets."
- Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Rabbitte)
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 75; Níl, 48; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Colm.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Collins, Michael.
- Collins, Niall.
- Costello, Patrick.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Donnelly, Stephen.
- Duffy, Francis Noel.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Farrell, Alan.
- Feighan, Frankie.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Flaherty, Joe.
- Flanagan, Charles.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Foley, Norma.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Healy-Rae, Michael.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Lahart, John.
- Leddin, Brian.
- Lowry, Michael.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Micheál.
- Matthews, Steven.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McHugh, Joe.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Nolan, Carol.
- Noonan, Malcolm.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Joe.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connor, James.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Gorman, Roderic.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Ring, Michael.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Shanahan, Matt.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Ossian.
- Stanton, David.
Níl
- Andrews, Chris.
- Barry, Mick.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Browne, Martin.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Cairns, Holly.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Joan.
- Connolly, Catherine.
- Conway-Walsh, Rose.
- Cronin, Réada.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Daly, Pa.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Farrell, Mairéad.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Gannon, Gary.
- Gould, Thomas.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Kenny, Gino.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Kerrane, Claire.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Nash, Ged.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Ryan, Patricia.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Bríd.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tully, Pauline.
- Ward, Mark.
- Whitmore, Jennifer.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Jennifer Whitmore.
Amendment declared carried.
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 75; Níl, 48; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Colm.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Collins, Michael.
- Collins, Niall.
- Costello, Patrick.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Donnelly, Stephen.
- Duffy, Francis Noel.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Farrell, Alan.
- Feighan, Frankie.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Flaherty, Joe.
- Flanagan, Charles.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Foley, Norma.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Healy-Rae, Michael.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Lahart, John.
- Leddin, Brian.
- Lowry, Michael.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Micheál.
- Matthews, Steven.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McHugh, Joe.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Nolan, Carol.
- Noonan, Malcolm.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Joe.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connor, James.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Gorman, Roderic.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Ring, Michael.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Shanahan, Matt.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Ossian.
- Stanton, David.
Níl
- Andrews, Chris.
- Barry, Mick.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Browne, Martin.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Cairns, Holly.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Joan.
- Connolly, Catherine.
- Conway-Walsh, Rose.
- Cronin, Réada.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Daly, Pa.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Farrell, Mairéad.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Gannon, Gary.
- Gould, Thomas.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Kenny, Gino.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Kerrane, Claire.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Nash, Ged.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Ryan, Patricia.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Bríd.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tully, Pauline.
- Ward, Mark.
- Whitmore, Jennifer.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Jennifer Whitmore.
Question declared carried.