Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

A point was made about the local property tax, which crops up in this chapter. The Department has provided us with some useful documentation. This is the reply we received on 25 October, PAC32-R-1670 A. It shows the various subsidy and grant levels, including the local property tax. It states there has been a surplus of local property tax receipts to fund housing programmes and gives figures for 2016 to 2018, inclusive. This year's figure is €92 million, for example. The Department confirmed to us not that long ago that a review of its baselines was under way. The amount of money involved could change significantly. Population has not been accounted for in determining the baselines since they were established in 2000 or thereabouts. There is a significant shortfall in some of the larger local authorities, which are the ones contributing to the local property tax pool. Not all local authorities make a contribution to it, only those in the likes of Dublin, some commuter belt counties, Galway and Cork, which are the likely winners in a reconfiguration if the baselines change. In that context, what consideration has been given to the future sustainability of the tax as a source of funding, or is that more of a policy area?