Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, regarding the yield from the tax and potential reviews of the local property tax, has Revenue modelled what the different approaches might be? In particular, if Revenue wanted to maintain the yield from the tax as being broadly in line with increases in the consumer price index, has it examined how it would achieve that by maintaining valuations but lowering the rates, which is the way it is approached in a number of countries? For householders, the idea that on foot of increasing house prices they would face, as indicated by some newspapers, potentially very large increases in the tax, would be very unfair and counterproductive in terms of our understanding of the tax being devoted to funding local services. Has Revenue carried out any evaluation given current levels of property values and what kind of rate would be appropriate to yield increases or decreases that were broadly in line with the consumer price index?

Second, I refer to older people and those who may be in nursing homes or some form of care where they are maintaining their residence in the hope they will return to it but where in practice that hope may turn out not to be realistic. Many people - the individuals concerned and often family members - are unclear as to what their options are in that situation. Has Revenue prepared an easy guide in that respect? I refer in particular to people who may be moving into nursing home care or hospital care over a long period. In the context of the current housing crisis, constant references have been made to houses that are vacant because a person has gone into hospital or a nursing home in the expectation of returning home. During that time, however, the house ends up being vacant over a protracted period. We are constantly told that for many families where a fair deal agreement is involved it causes problems regarding property tax. Has that issue been brought to Mr. Walsh's attention?

A third issue that is important relates to areas such as big cities and towns in which significant amount of property tax are being paid because of higher property tax and higher valuations. Does Mr. Walsh have details of the equalisation and what that costs councils in, for example, Cork, Dublin and Galway, where not all of the property taxes paid in those areas go to fund the councils in those areas?

Such a council may have services, such as homelessness services, which it finds it difficult to fund because a significant amount of property tax generated in that council area is being awarded to other areas and because such counties are not getting the boost they need from general taxation.