Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and allowing me to clarify a few matters.

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 and Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013 provide for a number of exemptions from the local property tax. These include an amendment for certain unfinished housing developments and residential properties that have been certified as having significant pyritic damage.

The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012. Whereas the annual household charge waiver list applied to some 1,322 developments, and approximately 43,000 households, the exemption from liability from the local property tax will apply to 421 developments, or approximately 5,100 households.

The reductions reflect several important changes from the waiver from the household charge. In the first instance, the categorisation was different. The list for household charge waiver used the proxy of a list of developments that were categorised by reference to the level of on-site activity at the time the 2011 survey was carried out and had less to do with the physical character of a development. Moreover, over 20,000 houses theoretically eligible for the 2012 waiver were either not complete, or not occupied.

It is also the case that some - but by no means all - of the developments previously eligible have been improved very significantly through the work of the Government in resolving problems in unfinished housing developments so that they are no longer in such state as to be regarded as seriously problematic. For purposes of preparing the final list of developments to which the exemption from the local property tax would apply my Department asked local authorities to confirm or update the existing list as appropriate. It was a matter for local authorities, in the Deputy's case, Kildare County Council, to decide on the continued inclusion or exclusion of particular developments on the list.

In terms of the exemption for households affected by pyrite, the methodology for the assessment of dwellings to establish significant pyritic damage will be prescribed in regulations which are currently being drafted. To claim an exemption a homeowner will have to obtain a certificate, from a competent person, confirming the presence of significant pyritic damage on the liability date.

The certificate will confirm that a visual assessment and relevant testing of hard-core material has been undertaken. Special arrangements will apply in respect of 2013 and 2014 to facilitate homeowners getting relevant certification to claim an exemption.

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