John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the third point, I do not believe Mr. Lavelle answered the question. I will try to answer it for him and tell him what is happening: when tenants inherit a rates bill on renting a vacant property, the procedure is arbitrary from local authority to local authority. Some local authorities are writing off the arrears in order that the town and county will not lose the business, while in other cases they are not. It is completely piecemeal and there is no rhyme or reason to it whatsoever. It is entirely subjective in respect of the local authority officials in a given authority. They are taking it on themselves to write off arrears for fear of losing business. That is what I have found.