Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and commend him for bringing forward this measure which, as he mentioned was included in the programme for Government. The house price property database is a good idea, but I am proposing measures that would improve it. We must focus on the desired goals and outcomes in having a house price property register. The information to which I have referred that could be included in the register is already available because it is part of the conveyancing process. People would lay out a description of the house and it would be a case of ticking boxes to indicate whether the property was a house, a flat, an apartment, a gable end, semi-detached or detached property, and the number of bedrooms. One would be required to tick four or five boxes and this could be done as part of the transfer of the information to Revenue. I am aware the information is used for stamp duty purposes, but as we move towards a more progressive property tax model and away from stamp duty, we need to adopt a more progressive approach to the way we determine the valuations of properties. I impress upon the Minister that what I am proposing would make a good idea better and future proof what has been a missing aspect of the way houses are costed.

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