Green Party TD and Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure Ossian Smyth has said Government plans to potentially defer the residential zoned land tax are "not going to happen".
While the tax is intended to target people who are hoarding land, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Minister for Finance Jack Chambers have raised concerns that "active" farmers could also be impacted.
Both the Taoiseach and Minister Chambers confirmed yesterday the tax is now set to be deferred.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Deputy Smyth said Ireland currently has unused land banks which could be used to build 220,000 homes, adding "if we don't go ahead and do this [introduce the tax] we're holding back 220,000 families".
Deputy Smyth said he was "amazed" to hear there are plans to defer the tax as the three coalition parties agreed in 2021 to introduce the measure in 2023.
He said last year, the coalition agreed to defer the tax for another year.
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However, responding to the possibility of another deferral, he said: "Here we are three years later [from the original agreement] and some politicians think it should be deferred for another year".
He said the introduction of the tax is to make sure land is not "hoarded", adding that he agreed with other Green Party colleagues that not introducing the tax would be "absolutely not the right thing to do".
Asked what he would do if the tax is deferred, Deputy Smyth said "I'm sure they won't [defer it], how could they, that's not going to happen".
Earlier, Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan said it is "really a shame for farmers or unfortunate for them if we're going to blame average decent farmers for land hoarding".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said: "We're in the run up to an election and we know that what we're seeing right now is a step back from something that was agreed five years ago."
Ms Hourigan said land hoarding is one of the biggest problems in terms of the affordability of housing and "now we're putting it probably on the never, never, not even on the long finger. For a Fianna Fáil minister to do this particularly is shocking".
She added that Minister Chambers as a Dublin minister is going to have to stand on doorsteps in Dublin West and defend putting off a measure that would fundamentally and strategically deal with the price of housing."
Ms Hourigan said there is already an exemption for farmers who are working the land.
"In the legislation there is already an ability to dezone land and your average farmer who is working land can do that and and can already do that."
