Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government published the Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 as part of its legislative programme. The Bill proceeded through Second Stage in Seanad Éireann in October 2012. Let me state the Bill will not change the basis of valuation for rating purposes. This will continue to be net annual value, NAV, the hypothetical rental value of a property as assessed by reference to a specified date. This is a long-standing principle of the rateable valuation scheme in Ireland and ensures equity and fairness in the values of commercial and industrial properties across local authorities.

The main purpose of the Bill is to accelerate the national programme of revaluing every commercial and industrial property in the country which is being undertaken by the Valuation Office, as the Deputy stated. The Bill amends several provisions in the Valuation Act 2001. These amendments include a number of technical changes to Part 5 of the 2001 Act which deals with how valuations, including revaluation of entire rating authority areas, are carried out. The Bill also proposes to amend Part 6 which deals with the carrying out of revisions of the rateable valuation of individual properties within rating authority areas.

I am mindful of the concerns and have met people from Waterford regarding this matter. The difficulty is that there has not been a revaluation in such a long period of time. We need a quick and expeditious revaluation, regular valuation after this and a robust appeals process to ensure that where anomalies arise, they are addressed.

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