David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan. I compliment Senator Aideen Hayden on her splendid analytic speech. She made a number of the points I would have made. Underneath the velvet tones of the Minister's speech, there was steely language. He stated: "There will be a relationship between the market value of a house and benefits to the owner in terms of enjoyment of the amenity value of the property" and "This is equitable to the extent that market value provides a measure of the value of a residential property to the owner, particularly in terms of its proximity to places of work and local amenities and facilities". Home is a central element of Irish culture. We value and treasure our homes, not just for their market value, which is variable. It seems there is callousness in what the Minister said.

There are some aspects of the content of the Bill that I welcome. It is a very good move that residential accommodation for people with special needs will be exempt. I am also very pleased that the Minister has taken on board the issue of pyritous materials first debated in the Seanad when I raised the issue. It seemed to be totally unjust to extract money from people who could not live in their own houses in certain circumstances. Certainly, their value has gone down the drain.

I wonder about the idea of making executors liable. This may have the effect of deterring people from becoming executors, if they believe they are putting themselves in danger.

It is welcome that the Minister has indicated that he is prepared to listen to constructive suggestions. It is important that we have the Minister for Finance, a very busy man with an onerous job, in the Seanad.

How does one assess the value of a house? It is very difficult these days, particularly outside newly built estates where the houses are all the same. They tend to change over time as people modify them or add an extension and so forth. There is also the question of the price the house commands on the date of its sale, particularly if it is an individual house. For example, a house that was sold through an advertisement or at auction, at which there was only one bidder might be valued at ¤500,000. If there are two bidders, it can reach astonishing levels. Which is the real value and how will it be assessed? Of course, there will be annual changes in the value of currency and so on. I accept that a property tax is a good idea if the money goes to the local authorities, but even then, in many local authorities and certainly in Dublin, many of the services that used to be provided by local authorities are no longer provided by them because they have been privatised, for example, bin collection services. The private companies have made a complete bags of that service. Water services will be privatised. Therefore, what services will be provided by local authorities? We are entitled to a bang for our buck and it will be a high one. These questions needs to be answered.

The principal reason I wish to speak to the Bill is to raise the issue of listed buildings. It is very important that we respect our heritage. If one looks at the very small number of significant houses on their own parkland such as Birr Castle, Glin Castle, Castle Leslie and Westport House, they will go if they are hit by the property tax, which would be a very serious blow. There will be no point in crying after they have been detenanted and the roofs have fallen off. I also must declare a direct and personal interest in listed buildings. In 1978 I bought a semi-derelict house in North Great George's Street which was then a slum area, with the lower end unravelled. In June 1979 I started the North Great George's Street Preservation Society which is now under the chairmanship of Ms Muireann Noonan, an adornment to the clan, although she spells her name slightly differently. Under her guidance, we won the national pride of place competition. It was an extraordinary change from being a tenement area of semi-derelict houses. The James Joyce Centre, No. 35, which has been assisted recently by the Government has become a very significant tourist attraction. Our visitor numbers are up 10% this year in the middle of the financial fire storm. During the 35 years I have lived in the house I restored it at my own expenses and did one room a year, which is what I was able to afford. That was good because it meant the adventure and excitement of restoration continued over that period and at the end of a year I had a new achievement. The last room was done about three years ago as a result of the fact that I had made a donation of all my papers to the National Library of Ireland, which freed up the room in which I had dispersed them all over the place. I have spent well over ¤1 million, possibly ¤2 million, during the years. It is amazing the way it mounts up. One operation alone cost me nearly ¤300,000.

I was glad to pay it. I provided employment. I restored a building that was at risk. It seems we are travelling backwards in this country. I have instanced various things such as evictions, soup kitchens and so on but now we have what one could say is rack-renting. If the unfortunate peasants dared to improve their holdings in the old days, they were given a slap by the landlord and charged for the improvements.

I bought my house in 1978 for the price a three or four bed-roomed semi-detached house in the suburbs at the time. How do I value it now given the money I have spent on it? Do I value it at the equivalent of that or with all the improvements I have made to it? I might be able to survive in this respect but there are people living on my street who will not. I dread to see that beautiful street sliding back into dereliction.

There are other considerations as well. For example, many people have let out parts of their houses. I have put in a luxury flat in the basement of my house, which has stabilised the house and I paid the property tax on both parts, because one had to do so. I assume the same requirement will apply to the payment of the property tax. That might bring me in underneath the threshold. I suggested to my neighbours that we get together and decide what are the appropriate valuations not to cheat the system but rather to establish what is the correct valuation. It is difficult to establish that with these houses as they are all different. Some of them are two-bay and some are three-bay. Around the corner in Mountjoy Square two houses, one in good order and the other not in good in order, were sold together for ¤670,000 and dividing that figure by two, perhaps the value of my house will come in under ¤1 million.

It is almost shameful to make any kind of special case, particularly when we have just been dealing with carers. I will do everything I can to pay whatever tax is exacted from me, and I know my neighbours will as well, but it would be a real shame if, in pursuit of some kind of fiscal rectitude, we destroyed our heritage. This is a savage Bill, let nobody make any mistake about that. The household tax was not collected by the Revenue Commissioners and non-payment of it was not a bar to membership of either House but because a tax clearance certificate will not be issued unless the property tax is paid, it means that the kind of protest in which some of our colleagues in the other House engaged will be completely impossible, and that poses certain questions.

I welcome the Minister. He has a very keen mind and I hope he will take on board some of the things I said. I apologise if what I said appears to be selfish. I am not thinking only of myself. I think in particular of the work that was done, which was very unpopular, by people like Desmond Guinness in preserving our heritage. All the glorious work in this Chamber is not an expression of an alien culture. This was done by Michael Stapleton, whose two sons went to Clongowes Wood College in the 18th century. This is Irish craftsmanship and it is unique and distinctive. I know a little bit about plasterwork and I identified the workmanship of the ceiling.