Vacant site levy system hampered by appeals, DCC chief to claim

Richard Shakespeare to tell Oireachtas committee that collection of 7% charge is being slowed down by extensive appeals process

Dublin City Council has acquired just 68 properties under a scheme that allows local authorities to use compulsory purchase orders to buy vacant houses

Ireland’s vacant site levy system, which imposes penalties on land that is not developed for housing, is being hampered because landowners can appeal the charge at every step of the process, according to a senior Dublin City Council official.

Richard Shakespeare, the council’s deputy chief executive, will tomorrow tell the Oireachtas housing committee that the process of collecting the 7 per cent levy is “slowed down” by rules that allow landowners to appeal to a ...