Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the next two weeks, millions of people will receive letters from the Revenue, 60% of whom have never received a letter from the Revenue before. People do not like getting letters from the Revenue Commissioners and that will have a major effect on people. When they read the small print, it will put the fear of God into many of them, particularly the elderly. I am dealing with a 93 year old lady who is afraid of this letter arriving and who has rung me three times about it.

The Bill states that if a person undervalues his house, he will be charged interest and penalties when the house is sold. What about those people who have never broken the law and who do not want to get into trouble with the Revenue Commissioners? If they overvalue their houses for the property tax and their houses are sold for less than the value they estimated, will they get a rebate from the local authority?

Every Minister and the Taoiseach has said this is for services within the local community such as roads, lights and footpaths. What about those who live in housing estates governed by management companies who must pay up to €1,000 in management fees? They will be caught for the property charge as well. In that case, local authorities should take these estates in charge and cover the costs of services in them. The residents should not have to carry the double burden of management fees and local authority property charges when, technically, the local authority will not give them any services. They must pay for the water coming in and going out when water metering is put in place later this year.

Not far from me in Galway, 15 houses were flooded in 2009. Only one of those houses can receive any insurance. I raised the issue with the Minister, and he advised me to go to Michael Kemp, the insurance regulator, but he told me he could not do a thing about it, that he had no control over this. Even I, given where I live, received a letter last week from the insurance company and if I am flooded, half of Galway city will be flooded. I was informed that I will not receive flood cover. I do not mind and I wrote back to ask what the insurance company will knock off my house if it would not cover me for flood damage because I know it will not be flooded.

These houses are now worthless, as Deputy Dara Murphy has said. If the owners went to sell them, no one would buy them. I compliment the OPW on doing tremendous flood alleviation work in the locality but it will not give anyone the confidence to buy one of those houses. Those people must be given some consideration because they live in houses that are worthless.

See this speech in context