Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for coming before the committee. I have a few brief questions that may be better directed to representatives of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The clerk might take note of some of the questions if our guests cannot answer them.

My first question relates to the councils. The councils are going to be raising their own revenue which makes it inevitable that councils will be forced to keep the higher rate of property tax. That will have a negative impact on the people within that local authority area. Is it the belief of the Department of Finance that LPT should be the main funder of local government in the future?

I understand 100% of property tax will be retained locally from 2023 onwards. Am I correct in that? Looking at the funding raised across different councils, how will the shortfall be met? That question may not be answerable by our guests.

Is there any estimated figure for the properties that have been excluded from property tax since 2013? If there is, would our guests have a regional breakdown of the local authorities concerned?

While I welcome the exemption for those affected by pyrite and mica, there are apartment blocks across the State with fire and safety issues and structural problems. Is there a case to be made for their exemption from the property tax?