Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 28, after line 38, to insert the following:“(a) by inserting the following before paragraph 1:

“A1. Any building used for the purpose of providing childcare, including crèche and pre-school services.”,”.

This is an issue I am taking up on behalf of members of the Minister of State's party who are backbench Deputies. They specifically raised it during the Second Stage debate, and asked that buildings that are used for the purpose of providing child care facilities, including crèches and preschools, be exempt from commercial rates. I agree with those members of the Minister of State's party who said that on Second Stage. As they are not members of the committee, I obliged them by tabling the amendment they suggested on Second Stage for consideration. I would have tabled it in any event but I was delighted to learn in the Second Stage debate that there was such agreement on the matter among the members of the Government parties.

Schools and public buildings are generally exempt from rates. As the Minister of State indicated, not-for-profit organisations generally do not have to pay rates. The question then arises about child care facilities, some of which are community-based and therefore exempt from rates while others are in the private sector, but which provide the exact same facilities and services. Both types of facility get the exact same money from exactly the same Department for the ECCE year for the same number of children, yet the private sector facilities have to pay rates. It is unfair that those in the private sector who are in competition with those in the community sector are not exempt from rates.

One preschool is exempt from rates and the other has to pay them. This change is necessary to ensure there is a level playing pitch in this area. The Minister of State said this is not policy and is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills. However, properties exempted from rates come under Schedule 4 to this Bill. There was a time when the traditional national school was exempted from rates. We are now providing facilities which children attend before going to national school. Given that primary and secondary level schools are exempt from rates, properties in which preschool facilities are provided should be also exempted. That appears to me to be logical.

We have all met with various providers. While many providers went through the full planning process and did everything by the book, following which the relevant information was forwarded to the Valuation Office, there are other providers who set up preschools in extensions to their homes or in garage conversions, in respect of which they did not have to engage with the system. In the latter case no information was sent to the Valuation Office because they are not on the radar of the local authorities. This means that the providers who did everything legitimately are the only ones paying commercial rates.

Amendment No. 10 provides that any land, building or part of a building used by a body for the purposes of caring for sick persons, for the treatment of illnesses or as a maternity hospital should be exempt from rates. Generally, hospitals are exempt from rates. While the Minister of State might say they are rateable, no rates are paid on them. I am not sure of the technical reason for this. Generally, hospitals are public buildings, in respect of which no rates are payable. There are a number of public hospitals in which private practice takes place. It is a fundamental part of the consultants' contracts.

Many public hospitals have an element of private practice for profit being carried on within them. There are no rates attached to such practices. However, if a consultant builds rooms next door to the hospital, in which he or she conducts a private practice while still continuing with his or her public practice in the hospital, he or she is liable for rates on those rooms. It is unfair that this is the case because the private practice operates out of a separate building. Are we in the business of collecting rates from health care facilities? Perhaps, we are but it is valid to suggest that health care and educational facilities, be they preschool, primary or second level facilities, should be exempt from rates. The same may be necessary in respect of health centres. I presume the HSE owns health centre properties which it rents to general practitioners. There is a vacancy for a doctor in my own area and I have heard that the HSE is seeking applications in respect of that practice for which the successful applicant will be charged €20,000 in rent. That is a new one on me. I am sure the doctor here will understand what I am talking about. Perhaps the real intention is to not fill the vacancy, which is another example of what is happening in rural areas.

Amendment No. 11 provides that any land, building or part of a building occupied for the purpose of caring for elderly, handicapped or disabled persons should be exempt from rates. There are community hospitals in every constituency that do not currently pay rates as they form part of the HSE. However, in recent years community hospital services have been contracted out to private nursing homes. This means the same service is being provided and paid for by the taxpayer through the fair deal, be that in a community hospital or a private nursing home. There is a case to be made for education and health facilities to be exempted from rates. On the one hand, the HSE is paying people, be it through fair deal or otherwise, to run the facilities which care for elderly, handicapped and disabled persons while on the other hand another arm of the State is asking these facilities to pay rates. This applies not to HSE-owned buildings but to privately owned buildings. I am looking for a little consistency between community health and preschool providers and those operated by the HSE. That is the essence of the three amendments. I am sure members of the Minister of State's party will thank me for tabling these amendments, many of which were specifically called for by them on Second Stage.