"The driving force behind corruption found by the Mahon Tribunal was that decisions by councillors to rezone land for residential and commercial development could make a handful of landowners and developers very rich.
"This was at the expense of local communities and the individuals and families that purchased overpriced homes and retail units in these communities. Both the Kenny Report and the recent Report on Property Rights by the All Party Committee on the Constitution, of which I was a member, recommended steps be taken to prevent this happening, including a cap on the price of land and windfall taxes.
"Although a windfall tax on capital gains from rezoning was introduced in the National Assets Management Agency Act of 2009 I believe more comprehensive steps to end windfall gains are needed. This windfall tax does not ensure that the cost of development land will not be over inflated in the future. Whether this tax works the way it was intended to has yet to be proven.
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"The main recommendation of the Kenny Report was that local authorities should be empowered to compulsorily to acquire land in designated areas at existing use value plus 25 per cent. This was in order that planning authorities would capture betterment created by the provision of physical infrastructure, which it could put to the provision of services including social housing and social infrastructure. It would also prevent over inflation of land values and I believe the Kenny Report recommendations should still be on the table as a possible reform to be implemented in the aftermath of the Mahon Report.
"There were a number of other recommendations in the Kenny and All Party Committee on the Constitution that have yet to be implemented that should be considered anew.
"If people think that the horse has bolted and that the current economic situation means Kenny Report type legislation is no longer relevant, I believe they are mistaken.
"The beginnings of what transpired during the years covered by the Mahon report happened during a recession and when land was not as valuable as it subsequently became during the boom. Land was changing hands in anticipation of it being rezoned for future residential development long before the early 1990s.
"The point is that what happened then can happen again and while the other recommendations of Mahon will help prevent this kind of corruption in future, the most radical and game changing step remains to be taken, i.e. the ending of windfall gains arising from decisions taken by councillors to rezone lands."
(CD/GK)
