Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. One has to look positively on the Bill and the provisions outlined by him. The LPT reliefs for houses damaged and undermined by pyrite and for houses in which people with disabilities reside are a humane, honest and up-front way of dealing with these issues. One must also welcome the certainty that there will be no increase in the LPT before November 2019. All households will welcome that. I also welcome the exemption for all new properties purchased between 2013 and 2016.

Could the LPT be abused by insurance companies? Hypothetically, people could value their homes between €90,000 and €150,000 but when it comes to insuring the house, it will cost the same if the value is between €150,000 and €250,000. That is the way bands are applied for home insurance. If somebody had the misfortune to have his or her home destroyed, could the insurance company say, "You had your home insured with us for €250,000, yet it was only valued at €150,000 for the purposes of the LPT"? Is there room to address this issue in the legislation? I am fearful of insurance companies exploiting this scenario.