The vacant site register for Kilkenny is due to be revised. The county council sought legal advice from a solicitor on the vacant site levy after farmers and county councillors raised concerns.
Actively farmed land was added to the new vacant site register, making them liable to pay a levy worth 3% of its value at the end of this year and 7% in following years.
However, the council has been advised that “it is not appropriate to place agricultural land on a vacant site register if being used for agricultural purposes” a spokesperson for Kilkenny County Council said. The spokesperson added that it has accepted this advice.
ADVERTISEMENT
Two sites have been removed from its register already and the rest will be reviewed.
IFA response
Kilkenny IFA chair James Murphy said the decision by Kilkenny County Council to remove farmland from the register is welcome and will be a huge relief to affected farmers, who were very concerned about the high levy they could be unfairly subject to. He said the farmers can now withdraw their appeals and get on with their business
Ahead of a meeting between the Department of Housing and local authorities on the implementation of the vacant site levy this week, IFA president Joe Healy has reiterated his call on Minister John Paul Phelan to issue a revised circular to clarify that farmland should not be deemed ‘vacant’.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
The vacant site register for Kilkenny is due to be revised. The county council sought legal advice from a solicitor on the vacant site levy after farmers and county councillors raised concerns.
Actively farmed land was added to the new vacant site register, making them liable to pay a levy worth 3% of its value at the end of this year and 7% in following years.
However, the council has been advised that “it is not appropriate to place agricultural land on a vacant site register if being used for agricultural purposes” a spokesperson for Kilkenny County Council said. The spokesperson added that it has accepted this advice.
Two sites have been removed from its register already and the rest will be reviewed.
IFA response
Kilkenny IFA chair James Murphy said the decision by Kilkenny County Council to remove farmland from the register is welcome and will be a huge relief to affected farmers, who were very concerned about the high levy they could be unfairly subject to. He said the farmers can now withdraw their appeals and get on with their business
Ahead of a meeting between the Department of Housing and local authorities on the implementation of the vacant site levy this week, IFA president Joe Healy has reiterated his call on Minister John Paul Phelan to issue a revised circular to clarify that farmland should not be deemed ‘vacant’.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS