A levy on unused development sites is be included in new legislation to establish the office of planning regulator, according to senior Department of the Environment sources.

The report of the Mahon tribunal almost two years ago recommended the establishment of a planning regulator, who would be “entrusted with the power to investigate possible systemic problems in the planning system, including those raising corruption risks”.

The Cabinet approved the establishment of the regulator last May, with powers to carry out “independent appraisal” of plans made by local and regional authorities, including development plans and regional planning guidelines.

The regulator would also have “investigative powers”, the Government said, which would enable it to carry out reviews of planning decisions made by city and county councils.

Regulator's office
It is understood the Government intends to publish the general scheme of the Bill, focusing mainly on the establishment of the regulator's office, at the end of March or the start of April. Details of the vacant sites levy are likely to be included in the heads of the Bill, to be published by early July.

Dublin City Council has sought the introduction of enabling legislation to allow local authorities to apply levies to stop "land hoarding". Enabling legislation would allow individual authorities to apply a levy that would be appropriate to their circumstances.

The levy was proposed by Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisín Quinn last August, over concern that while the construction market was becoming viable again, particularly in the capital, land was not being released for development, with land hoarding driving up prices artificially .

Government secretary general Martin Fraser, the State's most senior civil servant, was appointed to head a taskforce examining the proposals for the levy.

A recent Dublin City Council survey found more than 80 per cent of respondents were in favour of the levy.

Productive use
The council's survey of almost 1,500 people, taken last month, found just under 90 per cent wanted unused, vacant or derelict lands in the city brought back into productive use.

Some 84 per cent either “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that landowners who don’t take steps to develop or make their sites available for temporary uses, such as parks or allotments, should have to pay a levy on the market value of the land.

However respondents to the council’s survey – conducted through its Your Dublin Your Voice site – were not in favour of a punitive tax. Asked to choose either 3, 6 or 10 per cent or “other”, and specify a rate, more than one-third said 3 per cent of the land value would be appropriate for a levy.

A quarter went for 10 per cent, and just under one-fifth chose 6 per cent. However, when the responses of the 22 per cent who selected “other” were collated, the average rate chosen by this group was just 1.4 per cent.

The council had identified more than 600 vacant sites and parcels of unused prime city- centre development land. It has further refined this information and has earmarked 312 sites that would be most suitable for the application of a levy.