Ms Josephine Feehily:

We are not valuing property. People know their properties, whereas the Revenue Commissioners do not. The estimate is irrelevant and should be ignored. We placed advertisements in national and provincial newspapers a couple of weeks ago, in which we stated people did not have to pay the Revenue estimate. It was as clear as that. They must make an assessment of the value of their own property. As a self-assessment tax, people decide the value of their property, fill in their return, tell us how they want to pay and return the form to us. The value is entirely a matter of judgment. The estimate will only come into play if people do not send in a return. Its only role is one of compliance. It does not have any relevance to the self-assessment. Is that clear?