Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief because I do not want to go over what has already been said and well articulated by various speakers. The greatest crisis facing the country at present from a social and economic respective is housing. Councillor Owens and Deputy Cassells have made very pertinent comments. There is a feeling out there that local authorities are not building in the way in which they did. They are told by central government that funding is not an issue and that if projects were put before it, funding would not be an obstacle, but it is taking two to three years to go from an initial site inspection to construction commencement. At the same time, approved housing bodies are getting the apparent nod, and in recent years we have had an overdependency on the housing assistance payment as a result.

I ask that the Chairman and committee members insist on a further meeting with the witnesses to discuss this item specifically because this is something that has to be ironed out. Why are local authorities not building? When we meet the Department, it states the procurement process has been reduced from eight to four stages, but it still takes two to three years. We hear this example replicated throughout the country, which is ridiculous in the extreme. It is time those at the coalface, including the witnesses, elected members and ourselves, get a handle on why local authorities are not building houses. It is as simple as that. Last year, the Minister published the sites and lands in council ownership. This was put on a website, expressions of interest were sought and then we heard no more about it. I want a special meeting, if it takes two days or a week, to get to the bottom of this and get everybody on side on how this issue is dealt with so we can all be on the same page. That is all I will say about this, rather than take taking up more time at the meeting.

With regard to commercial rates and the revaluation ongoing since last year, the assumptions are that in the round the income will remain the same and that the rates will be collected. The variation in valuations in some sectors is such they will not be collected. I was interested to hear about the National Oversight and Audit Commission, and I acknowledge the work it does. I specifically compliment it on being the first to bring to public knowledge the lack of inspections and the 6% rate in 2015. As usual, it takes a sexy programme on TV - not that it was anything of the sort - to bring home the alarming nature of it to most people. It is from this that progress might ensue.

With regard to commercial rates, the witnesses mentioned that they carried out an exercise recently. Have they made this public? What are its findings? Are the witnesses aware of the difficulties we face considering the new evaluation taking place? Next week, we will discuss a new valuations Bill, which will seek to address the anomalies that exist in our archaic system, and bring about new methodologies in how rates are calculated and collected. This is fine, but if that legislation were produced and agreed in the Dáil tomorrow, it could not be retrospective. It could be ten years before the fruits of it will be borne. In the meantime, some people are of the opinion that the bills on their tables this year, which will come into effect next year, will somehow be wiped. They will not, unfortunately. Are the Association of Irish Local Government, the Department and the Minister aware of this train wreck that will present itself? Some industries and businesses have seen their rates bills rise by 300% or 400%. It is unbelievable in the extreme to think that in this day and age a cost and expense can increase by this amount and, considering what they have come through in recent years, they can be hit by this. If it were any other sector or service, there would be uproar. The way in which it is done is well managed in the sense it is county by county over a period and there is a bit of an outcry every couple of months in different areas of the country. If this were happening in the whole and together, it would not have proceeded and it would not have lasted a week or two.

What exercise has been carried out and is it up to date? Is it cognisant and relevant considering the huge increases taking place at present? There is an assumption that local authorities will get the money. I saw the same with development levies and charges. There was an assumption that they would be collected and that if they were received one year, they would be received the following year. The witnesses have mentioned their revenue has decreased by €800 million or €900 million. I would like a breakdown of this. Laois County Council recently reduced its development charge, which was commendable, in an effort to try to reduce the cost of construction for the private sector. Local authorities should do this across the board, but will the Government compensate them in the short term for the shortfall? It is the same with regard to the overdependency on these revenue streams. The local authorities state they need a revaluation of the local property base rate and valuation going back to 2014, notwithstanding that local authorities have been forced to increase it over recent years anyway. If this is not done, the Government can state the local authorities have the wherewithal to do it themselves, not to come knocking on its door and that they should take the play and take the hit politically on the ground. This is what is at play. None of us is interested in politics when we are elected to these forums. We are supposed to come together and ensure we represent those who gave us the privilege to do so in a constructive and cohesive manner, but these are the facts. While the oversight body might not have any input in policy, surely it can comment on the trend that has become obvious in recent years regarding the way in which the local property tax is spent.