Derelict levy tax set to be introduced in Mayo - Finance Minister vows

Finance Minister Simon Harris has reaffirmed his plan to introduce a derelict levy tax.

Speaking after being told by Mayo TD Paul Lawless about the slow progress in tackling dereliction in the county, Minister Harris stated: "I will get Revenue to collect this because it will do it right.

"It astonishes me, at a time when dereliction could bring in, through the levy, more money for local authorities to deliver public services and act as a disincentive to dereliction, that so many of them have done so little in respect of this matter.

"They will write me letters and pass motions. They should get on with the job.

"I do not have any confidence that they are going to do it right, so we are going to legislate, take it off them and do it through Revenue.

"We also do not need to babysit the local authorities. They need to get on and do their job.

"We have given them all vacancy officers and we have funded them. Hard-pressed taxpayers in this country have funded posts for local authorities to tackle dereliction.

"It utterly unacceptable that it would exist at the scale it does, particularly in the context of what Deputy Lawless outlined with regard to his county of Mayo.

"We are so peeved with local authorities in terms of where they are at regarding the derelict sites levy that we are taking it off them and giving it to Revenue in order that it will be dealt with properly."

Deputy Lawless said the number of houses in Mayo represents 3% of the overall national housing stock.

"Despite this, according to a recent GeoDirectory report, the proportion of dereliction in Mayo represents 14% of the national rate. That is extraordinary.

"Dereliction is a scourge on our towns and blight on our communities. Many homes have been abandoned for decades and have essentially been left to rodents and bats. That is what is happening.

"Mayo has had an average of two compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, over the past ten years.

"We need to resource local authorities in the context of dereliction levies and CPOs.

"We also need to set targets to ensure that action is happening. We are rudderless in respect of this matter, and communities are struggling.

"I know of communities in which people are worried because slates are falling off buildings. That is how bad things are in certain towns and villages.

"We need targets for local authorities and we need to resource local authorities. We must have metrics."