Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter and I am pleased that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has come into the House to deal with it. Thousands of home owners have been under a misapprehension about certain regulations for what is colloquially described as the second house charge, which was introduced in 2009. I wish to highlight a consequent anomaly in which I ask the Minister to show an element of redress and common sense. We were led to believe this charge was a tax on second houses, holiday homes and investment properties in the amount of €200 per annum payable in 2009. The tax applied to non-full time residences and became due on 1 September 2009. I make the case that thousands of people have not adequately registered or paid because they have been under a misapprehension as to whether there was a liability. Interest is running and penalties have been imposed resulting in bills of many thousands of euro having been amassed by people who had no idea they were subject to the tax. The assumption was that anybody who had a principal private dwelling - being the home in which he or she ordinarily resided - would not be liable.

In my constituency - I am sure this is true of other Deputies' constituencies - many people bought their houses as first-time buyers. They got their mortgages and moved in, but owing to economic necessity have left the jurisdiction of the State and emigrated to Australia, Canada or the UK because they could not find employment in this country. In many cases the mortgage could not be paid and they entered into an arrangement to let the house. They may have engaged somebody in caretaking the house - to mind the house for them in order to pay the mortgage until the economic climate improved to allow these people to return to friends and family in this country and resume residence within the jurisdiction of the State.

Local authorities have in many respects adopted a high-handed approach by issuing letters informing people that they may or may not be liable when a strict reading of the legislation shows a certain liability. I am asking that a waiver of interest and penalties be provided by the Minister to facilitate those people suffering because of the anomalous situation. The Consumers Association of Ireland recently adverted to matter by stating that in Dublin alone there may be up to 7,000 such houses where people because of economic necessity had to leave the family home, many returning to live with their parents. They made arrangements for a rental income to be paid on the house which they used to pay the mortgage to keep the banks from repossessing the houses. I believe the local authorities should have notified the people as to the liability - if, indeed, there was a liability. It is neither fair nor just to adopt a high-handed approach.

I refer to media reports at the time the tax was imposed. Headlines indicated that owners of second homes had two days to pay the charge and that residential investors must pay the money. However, there was no reference to those who by economic necessity had to leave the jurisdiction of the State and I am now asking for certain clemency in that regard.

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