Labour has raised serious concerns over developers hoarding land to profit from expected house price increases in the future.

The party made the announcement after the Irish Independent reported that concern about the practice was raised at the recent Irish Planning Institute annual conference.

Labour Housing Spokesperson, Jan O'Sullivan TD, said: "In our Social and Affordable Housing Bill, which the Labour Party brought forward last year, we moved to tackle this all too common practice through the implementation of the 1973 Kenny Report. This recommended that the compensation paid where there is compulsory purchase of land for the purposes of building social houses, would be the existing value of the land plus 25%.

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"We also proposed that the introduction of the vacant site levy be brought forward by a year, to encourage owners to make land available for building homes and to give some relief to hard-pressed renters and those trying to get on the property ladder.

"These calls went unanswered at the time, but I am now urging the Minister for Housing to take these proposals seriously and take action so that homes are built now and not in two years, when scarcity of supply will have further jacked up prices."

(CD/MH)