Madam, - Mr Tom Parlon, Minister for State for of Finance, has stated his opposition to proposals to cap the price of development land, saying he believes that "rights cannot be withdrawn by a democratic whim of a particular government".
Property values are greatly dependent on zoning. It is the power of local authorities to rezone that is causing the problem, not the constitutional rights of individuals to private ownership of land. Councils have "powers", not "rights".
The power of councils to rezone land is what makes that land worth more or less, and that is why councillors are subject to so much pressure to rezone from developers. The power to rezone land is a source of corruption.
That power lies in the wrong hands. Rezoning land is too important a matter to be controlled exclusively by local councillors, free from any external constraints (other than the limits on their actions that are imposed by European environmental directives).
If it should come to light that land in places where homes are desperately needed is being held up by developers who own it because rezoning has made it worthwhile for them to wait for its value to further increase, the Constitution should require that the rezoning of such land is cancelled for the sake of the public good, and it should revert, in perpetuity, to agricultural or public amenity land use. - Yours, etc.,
DEBRA E. JAMES, Cummerduff, Co Wexford.