I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill aims to finally end the non-collection of derelict sites levies and to force transparency on the reasons why the levies are not being collected. Since the introduction of the derelict sites levy 35 years ago in 1990, we have heard excuse after excuse as to why the levy is not being collected. In 2023, less than 10% of the levies that were owed were actually collected. This does not go into the number of sites that were not on the derelict sites register or the number of sites to which the levy was not actually applied. This Bill would require every local authority that does not collect 75% or more of the derelict sites levy to produce a report as to why it was not collected and what plans the local authority will put in place to ensure its collection. This Bill also requires the Minister then to engage with those local authorities as to why it is not happening and what needs to be done. Is it resources? Is it supports? This would end the blame game whereby local authorities blame the Minister in the Department and vice versa. This puts a requirement on everyone to solve the derelict sites levy and make sure that it is collected. As regards the impact of this, it will not solve dereliction overnight. It will not end the blight of dereliction in the towns, the villages and the cities. As to what it will do, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for far too long have been cosying up to landholders, speculators and developers - their buddies - and allowing them to get away with this. Is there any law that was brought in over 35 years ago that has been so disrespected and abused? The Government that brought it in - because this was brought in by Fianna Fáil - has allowed this to happen. If an ordinary man on the street got a parking ticket or did something wrong and got a fine, the local authority would force him to pay his parking fine. If he did not, the local authority would bring him to court. If, however, you are a landholder or a speculator and you owe hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of euro, what does this Government do? It lets you off. Once again we have here one rule for the rich and the wealthy and another rule for ordinary people. This allows speculators to get away scot-free. Then they sit in these properties that destroy communities and they see the value of their investment go up. Where is the justice? Where is the law? Where is the right for ordinary people? This Government has given an amnesty to speculators not to pay the derelict sites tax. Over €20.5 million is owed in derelict sites levies. If we ever needed proof that this Government was more interested in looking after speculators and issuing nice press statements, we see it with what happened in the budget. We have a housing crisis. This will not solve the housing crisis but it is a small step. This is a solution we are bringing forward. The one thing we hear from the Government all the time is "The Opposition do not bring forward solutions". This is a solution. This is a positive step. Why will the Minister not support it? This will be a self-reported tax that will be collected by the Revenue, the same as the vacant homes tax, another damp squib the Government brought in. Just to give an idea, there are between 90,000 and 140,000 vacant homes in the State, depending on whether you look at CSO figures or GeoDirectory. Does the Minister know how many homes the vacant homes tax was paid for? It is less than 2,500, which is 2% of vacant homes. That was the Minister's solution. Some 98% of people get away scot-free and 2% of people are put on the register, which does not charge enough. As if that is not bad enough, the Minister announced the derelict sites tax and then said that, as Minister for housing, he would have a war on dereliction. That is a load of bull because the tax does not come in until 2027. I am not sure how the Minister's maths work out, but from last year's budget to when the tax comes in will be at least two years. Think of all the derelict site levies that will not be collected, plus the €20 million that is already owed, and then the Minister says it will not come in until 2027. How can he describe that as a war on dereliction? How can he stand over that? Why is that levy not being paid today? It should have been paid since 1 January. What the Minister has done, instead of having a war on dereliction, is have an amnesty on dereliction. This Bill is only an interim measure that will end that amnesty and put in place plans to collect more and collect the €20 million that is currently owed to the State. If ordinary people owe money to the State, they have to pay it. If people have not paid their local property tax, it comes out of their salary, but if they do not pay hundreds of thousands on derelict properties, they are all right. The Minister tells them he knows them and they are sound. These people are letting billions rot in the heart of communities. I invite the Minister again to walk the streets of any town, village or city with me. If he walks around Dublin today, he will see derelict buildings, dirt, rubbish and antisocial behaviour. How can he stand over that? In 2024, this Government - Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - and RTÉ brought 5,400 people to court for not paying their TV licence, at a total cost of €864,000. When the ordinary man on the street does not pay the €160 for his TV licence, he will be dragged to court, but when someone owes tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of euro, they get away with an amnesty. When will those people and companies go to court? They should be brought to court for the destruction they are doing to communities. Instead, the Minister is giving them an amnesty. I am not sure where the Minister comes from or how much dereliction there is in his area, but in the area that I represent, and in the areas of other TDs here, we see first-hand the destruction dereliction causes. Can the Minister imagine people growing up with a house or building next door that is derelict? Can he imagine the negative effects that has on children and the environment they are growing up in? This is about more than finance. This is about quality of life, protecting communities and not letting speculators get away scot-free. If they are not going to use the buildings, they should be the subject of compulsory purchase orders for housing. If that is not the case, they should be used for youth clubs, community centres, boxing clubs, the arts and dance. I was talking about it with a TD here. Youth groups, sporting groups and voluntary organisations that are crying out for buildings see these empty, destroyed buildings in their community, while they have none or are struggling to pay for the buildings they have. The antisocial behaviour and dumping in the heart of some communities are shocking. In areas that are crying out for housing, decent, hard-working people are going to work every day and looking at derelict buildings. Community groups, local authorities and sporting organisations can be pulled together to turn these derelict buildings into housing or make them suitable for community buildings. There is also the business community. There are probably people who want to start or expand their businesses, but they are looking at a derelict building next to them that is preventing them from taking the opportunity to create more business, hire more people and be a positive impact on the community. A number of issues are involved here. These buildings are not just derelict. They are an insult to people, because they could be worth more. They could be vibrant places that have a positive impact on communities. They could be an asset but, instead, they are left to rot. There are currently thousands of homeless children living in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. How heartbreaking must it be for parents to be in emergency accommodation and, at the same time, have to look at derelict buildings that could be turned into homes? The Minister said he wants to solve the housing and homelessness crisis. For years, I have taken Ministers at their word, but I have to judge the Minister on his actions. If he is not going to tackle dereliction today and take it on head first, then I cannot believe his words because I look at his actions. People who cannot buy a house, rent a house or get on the social housing list, for different reasons, are looking at these boarded-up, derelict houses. They say to me, "Tommy, how is that right?" It is not just one place. I have met people from Dundalk, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, and all over. Last year, I went up the west coast, through Sligo, Galway and all the way up to Donegal. I saw cottages empty and derelict, where families could live if they were supported. Behind my office was a building that was derelict. I put it up on Facebook. I was contacted by a lady who was born and reared in the house. Her family was raised there and sold the house. There are now holes in the roof and the windows are broken. The only ones living in the house now are the pigeons of Cork. I am not trying to be smart or make a joke of it. There is a house in the centre of the city that was left to rot. Through his actions, the Minister will continue to allow that to happen. The lady who contacted me was angry and frustrated because she had a great experience growing up in that home and she was hoping the next people to live in it would have the same experience, but they did not. She sent me photographs of her family when they were growing up in this house, which is off Shandon Street, showing the life that they had. The house was immaculate and spotlessly clean. It was a beautiful home that has been left to go to rack and ruin. This legislation will force local authorities which do not collect 75% of their levies to take action to produce a report about why and when that will happen and it will force the Minister to engage with them to ensure that it does. If the Minister is genuine, I ask him to accept the Bill. For far too long in this country, there has been an old boys' club. It has been a case of not upsetting Johnny because Johnny is sound and one of our own. We have to start upsetting Johnny because there are land hoarders and speculators who do not give a damn about the communities they are in. The Government has a big job to solve the housing crisis and dereliction. This is a start. We are trying to come up with solutions. It is not just me but all of the Opposition. We will work with the Government but, from what I can see, the Government will not work with us. No matter what solutions we bring forward, the Government is not interested. We have advocated for years for something along the lines of the new derelict sites tax the Minister will be introducing in 2027. We think such a tax is the right way to bring in revenue. I will leave the Minister with this. On Tuesday night, I spent 11 hours with a family member in a hospital accident and emergency department in Cork. Nine homeless people were in there, and I got to talking to them. Does the Minister know why they were in the accident and emergency department in Cork on Tuesday night? It was because it was freezing outside. They came in out of the cold to get a bit of heat. This is how bad the homelessness and housing crisis is in Cork. This Bill will not solve the whole problem, but it would be a start in tackling dereliction.

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That is right.

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I thank my staff, especially my PA, who have done a tremendous amount of work on this legislation. I also thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, which has assisted me in bringing in this legislation. The Minister might criticise it but it is right and has gone through the whole process. As a back bench TD, I am limited in the legislation I can bring forward. I would love to go much further. I would love to work with the Minister on it but he comes in here and criticises the proposals I have made. He just said he was having a war on dereliction. What he did not say was it was not starting for another two years. He comes in here and criticises local authorities and councils but he has given local authorities the job of pulling the derelict sites register together. They have had that job for 35 years. The Minister is telling me they could not get it right for 35 years and is blaming them for not collecting the levy, but he is still leaving them in charge of putting the list together. The Minister cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. I spoke earlier about being in the Mercy hospital on Tuesday night, a freezing cold night. It was jammed out the door, with trolleys everywhere. I was 11 hours in there with a family member. People told me they came into A and E to get out of the cold. I do not know whether the Minister knows where the Mercy hospital is in Cork. Within minutes' walking distance of the hospital are derelict buildings. Around the corner from the hospital are buildings that are rotting. The Minister should be bringing in this legislation now. I know that when his Bill is enacted, my Bill will fall, but at least until the Minister's Bill comes in, this Bill will be working away. The Minister commented twice but he never once mentioned the €20 million owed by speculators to whom he is giving an amnesty. Those are the facts. He also never discussed why the 2024 figures on dereliction have not been released. They are normally released every March. The Minister is hiding the figures. I got them from every other Minister but I cannot get them off Deputy Browne. Why is he hiding and covering up the dereliction and the landholders and speculators who have derelict sites all over the State? The Minister says he wants a war on dereliction. Give us the figures. Release them. Why will the Minister not release them? It is because they will show how bad things are. Other Members have made comments about different towns and cities. Does the Minister know how hard it is for people living in overcrowded accommodation with two or three generations in the one house when there is a derelict site around the corner? Does he know how hard it is for people in emergency accommodation to bring their children across the city to school, passing a dozen properties that could be their home? The Minister talks about his Government. Why is he not doing this now? He should be tackling dereliction today. This Government has been in place for more than a year. Why is it not doing its job? It is because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are up to their tonsils in vested interests, the landholders and speculators who are only interested in making money. If the Minister wants us to take him at face value, he needs to tackle this now. People want action. They do not want the Minister to be talking about this next year or the year after. They want action now. People are leaving this country to go to Australia because they cannot find somewhere to rent. There are people leaving because they cannot find a house to buy. There are people who are stuck because they cannot get social housing but cannot afford rent. I am not sure about the Minister's pride in his responsibility. I am genuinely not trying to insult him but these are the facts as we stand in the Dáil today. We have the highest rents, the highest house prices and the highest homelessness figures in the history of the State and Deputy Browne is the Minister. He can blame us in the Opposition but I am trying to fix something. This Bill will not fix everything but it would be a start. It would send a message to those the Minister has called criminals, those involved in the antisocial behaviour of destroying communities through dereliction. It would send a message that this will not be tolerated any more. It would also send a message to people who are struggling and who are looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. It would tell them that this Government will do something. This Government has done nothing on dereliction for 35 years. Does the Minister know the joke about this? Does he know who brought in the original dereliction legislation? In 1990, Charles Haughey was the Taoiseach and Pádraig Flynn was the Minister. Those two individuals thought it was bad 35 years ago. Governments have done nothing for 35 years. Charles Haughey, the former Taoiseach, owned an island. Those two men knew back then that this was wrong. I am here today trying to work with the Government but it will not work with us. It will not work with the Opposition and it definitely will not work with Sinn Féin. We propose having Revenue collect this levy. That should have started on 1 January. The Minister could give local authorities funding and staff to compulsorily purchase buildings. He could give local authorities support to take on the developers who are sitting on these sites and not developing them. There are people out there who want to buy these properties to turn them into businesses, homes, community centres and sports facilities but the Minister is letting them rot. There are buildings rotting in this country. Who is responsible? Who is going to do anything about it? Deputy Browne is the Minister. We could walk out the door here and see building after building that is derelict but the Minister is coming in here and asking us to wait until 2027, when we might get to it. With no disrespect, I do not believe the Government will get to it in 2027. Enough is enough. The Minister said he was not going to tolerate this but what is he doing? He can make these statements but the proof is in the pudding. The proof is in his actions and his actions are not delivering. This Government, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister have brass necks to tell us they are going to solve the housing crisis and the homelessness crisis and that they are going to stop people emigrating because they need homes. I know people who have left. Does the Minister know what they are hoping for? They are hoping there is going to be another financial crash here so they can come home and buy a house. They are telling me they will never be able to come home with the price of houses and rents here and that their only hope is another financial crash. They do not believe the Government is interested in them. They do not believe it wants to support them. Every day, I talk to genuine hardworking people who are trying to build lives for themselves and their families. All they are looking for is a safe and affordable home so they can live their lives. Is that too much to ask? Over the last few days, I have been listening to different Ministers talking about all the people who are working and how well the country is going. For a lot of people, it is going well. However, if you do not have a house, a home and a roof over your head and your children's heads to call your home, where are you going? Where is this Government going? It is not good enough. I brought forward legislation to work with the Government. I would have amended it. We could have amended it down the road. We could all have worked together. We still can because the vote on this is not until next Wednesday night. I ask the Minister to think about it. Perhaps he could pull the Opposition together with his own backbenchers. Those backbenchers are telling him the same. We could still work together and make a difference. At the end of the day, it is about helping people and providing housing for people to make a difference. It is about stopping dereliction and the speculators.

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