Mr. Niall Cody:

The local property tax Act provides that LPT is payable on all residential properties including those owned by local authorities. The way LPT is structured, the liable person is the owner of the property. The local authority is liable to pay Revenue in respect of its properties. The local property tax amendment Act - the second Act - set all the LPT liability for local authority houses at the first band regardless of value, which would have been €45 for the first half year and €90 for the second year. The liable person is the local authority. Local authorities have the liability for 120,460 local authority houses but we only deal with the local authority. We do not deal with the tenant and we do not establish whether the local authority passes it on in the rent or otherwise. That is a matter for the local authority to decide.