Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo.

The Valuation Act 2001, which came into effect on 2 May 2002 provides that all buildings used or developed for any purpose including constructions affixed thereto are rateable. In regard to the Valuation Act 2001, the commissioner of valuation is independent in the exercise of his duties under the Act, and the Minister for Finance has no function in decisions in this regard.

Under section 28(4) of the Valuation Act 2001, a revision officer of the valuation commissioner may carry out a revision of valuation in regard to a particular property only if a material change of circumstances has occurred since the property was last revised. A material change is defined in section 3 of the Act as a change of circumstances which consists of a new building, a change in value due to structural alterations of an existing building, total or partial demolition of a building or a sub-division or amalgamation of relevant property. The definition does not allow for a revision of valuation where the change in value is due to economic factors, differential movements in property values or other external factors such as roads or other infrastructural development in the vicinity of a property. The valuation of commercial property is determined by reference to the values of comparable properties on the same valuation list.

That is to say they are compared to similar properties in the same local authority area to ensure, in so far as it is possible, that they are all treated equally. Therefore, while external factors such as roads or other infrastructural development in the vicinity of a property have no impact on valuations determined at revision, they can by their nature have either a positive or negative effect on a business. For example, new motorways are allowing greater numbers of people to travel to outlying areas, bringing potential for increased trading. While some businesses may have been bypassed by the new motorways, on the whole, the new road system has received a general welcome throughout the country and could be seen to have a generally beneficial effect on businesses. Similarly, the valuations of commercial enterprises that have benefited from infrastructural developments have not been increased.

It is generally recognised that bypasses give the bypassed towns back to their communities; these towns have thrived in the absence of daily traffic jams, lack of parking, and the general hassle of trying to do business in such a congested environment. Bypasses improve accessibility for whole regions, reduce travel times and transport costs and make journey times more predictable. All this adds rather than detracts from the prospects for economic development in a region.

In regard to signage on roads, spatial planning and national roads guidelines were recently published by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The guidelines indicate that the erection of advertising signage is tightly regulated for road safety and environmental reasons. Regulation of signage on national roads ensures that the information needs and safety considerations of road users can be fully and properly catered for. However, the authority's practice is to erect white-on-brown tourist signs identifying the town or village and including, as appropriate, symbols indicating the principal facilities and services available in the locations concerned.

It is at a revaluation that economic factors, differential movements in property values or other external factors such as roads or other infrastructural development in the vicinity of a property are accounted for in the valuation process.

With regard to the national revaluation programme, I am glad to report that steady progress is being made. In a typical revaluation of all the commercial properties in a local authority area, the entire list is brought up to date by reference to values at a specific date and the list is then published on one date, usually 31 December, and comes into effect on 1 January the following year. To date, revaluations have been completed in south Dublin and Fingal county council areas and the revaluation of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is nearing completion. In the next phase, it is intended to roll out the programme to a further local authority in the coming months and the necessary process of consultation, as provided for under the Act, is under way.

The Valuation Act 2001 has been in operation for eight years and the commissioner has now decided to initiate an internal review of the statute. The various provisions in the Act are being examined from a number of perspectives in the light of experience and the implications of judgments emanating from the valuation tribunal and the courts over the past seven years. In the context of this review, I will ask the commissioner to consider the matters raised by the Deputy.

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