Labour bill aims to reduce price of building land

THE price of land for building should be capped at just 25% above its existing un-zoned value, according to the Labour Party.

The party also wants to tackle land speculation by granting compulsory purchase order powers to local authorities and introduce a punitive capital gains tax on hoarded land.

Publishing a bill to control the price of building land, Labour environment spokesman Eamon Gilmore said measures to control the price of building land were essential to bring down the price of housing if young families were ever to have any hope of owning their own homes.