Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The intention is to retain control of the property tax such that it does not become a type of automatic imposition on households because the price of houses throughout the country or in one part of it rise unexpectedly. That is the purpose of the decision. The revaluation date was due in November 2016. We will now defer it. It is difficult to estimate the potential loss because determination of that requires insight into the expectations of the percentage rise in value up to 2019. It is difficult to give the Deputy a figure in this regard but it is probably in excess of €100,000 or €125,000 on average. That is a very loose estimate because, as I said, it may be the case in 2017 or 2018 that house prices have stabilised. If appeared last year that there would be a continuing rise. I cannot give a realistic estimate. That can only be done retrospectively from 2019.

On the pyrite issue, I answered a question this morning in the Dáil which set out the position in this regard. The Government has accepted the proposals of Dr. Don Thornhill in respect of pyrite-affected houses as set out in his report.

I published the report in the documents accompanying the Budget Statement. Effectively, it is no longer necessary for a householder to have an expensive assessment, which might cost €2,000, carried out, especially when the benefit is much smaller than the cost of acquiring it. It will be done on a self-assessment basis. The Revenue Commissioners will accept the Thornhill recommendations on an administrative basis in the first instance, pending legislation being passed to give it the statutory basis that is required. In the next two weeks the Revenue Commissioners will publish a protocol setting out the position, to make it easier for persons whose family home is affected by pyrite to claim the exemption from property tax.

Regarding the other categories of houses mentioned by the Deputy, such as those in Donegal and Longboat Quay, the local property tax is self-assessed. If somebody decides that his or her house is of very low value - and I presume no house has nil value - that is what he or she should return to the Revenue Commissioners. The tax is based on the value as self-assessed. The legislation governing the administration of the local property tax provides for a limited number of exemptions from the tax. There is no specific exemption for properties affected by mica and there are no plans to introduce such an exemption. Local property tax operates on a self-assessment basis and it is a matter for the property owner, in the first instance, to calculate the tax due based on his or her assessment of the market value of the property. When making an assessment, issues such as the presence of the mica will be one of the factors that a property owner should take into account in valuing the property.

If somebody is claiming their house is worth very little because it has a mica problem, it would be prudent for the householder to indicate this when returning the property return to the Revenue Commissioners and to provide some evidence that this is the case. Otherwise, the Revenue Commissioners might revert to them if comparable houses in the area were paying significantly more in property tax and the discrepancy could not be explained from the Revenue Commissioners' perspective.