Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister for Finance is in the Chamber to take this matter, which is about the local property tax. Forgetting the rights and the wrongs of the property tax, local authority houses were not supposed to be valued at over €100,000. Now, some local authority home dwellers have had their properties valued at €157 for the half year - €315 for a full year - which means they have been valued at more than €115,000. Many were also told their local authorities would deal with it by adding it on to the rent. However, some of my constituents have received letters telling them they must make a return. I even spoke to one elderly constituent yesterday who was going to borrow the money to pay the tax. The helpline is not very helpful, and is very costly because it charges a premium rate. There is much confusion about the liability for this tax.

My neighbours' homes in my housing estate are being banded in the €150,000 to €200,000 category. However, the six most recent house sales in the estate came in between €95,000 and €110,000. A four-bedroom house, which was the largest, only came to €120,000. The auctioneers have priced brand new houses in the estate with solar panels and so forth at €110,000.

See this speech in context