A Carmelite convent in Dublin has become the second enclosed order to be targeted by a new tax on undeveloped land, after their appeal to An Bord Pleanala (ABP) was denied.

The news comes after the Poor Clares in Cork City were hit with a tax aimed at dealing with companies and individuals who hoard residential sites.

The Carmelite Monastery of St Joseph, Kilmacud, in South Dublin, home to nine Carmelite sisters, has been included on draft maps for the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT).

This could see the order facing a bill in the thousands annually, as the RZLT is calculated at 3pc of the market value of lands.

The convent appealed the decision saying the new tax “would interfere with the sisters’ way of life” as, being an enclosed order, the grounds are vital to the contemplative nature of the community.

However, ABP denied their appeal after its inspector concluded that no reasons had been identified that would prevent development of the order’s lands for residential purposes.