Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is very timely to discuss this Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015 today. There is one good element to its substance, which is the deferring of the revaluation date for the local property tax from 1 November 2016 to 1 November 2019. The issues of exemptions for people affected by pyrite and disabilities are also welcome but they are more of a public relations announcement than a substantive matter if we consider the number of people who have benefited from those exemptions to date.

This debate is timely because we are in December and almost every household in the country will have received a letter from the Revenue Commissioners in the past couple of weeks about paying the local property tax for 2016. It states, "I am writing to you in regard to payment of your local property tax (LPT) for 2016", and the next sentence indicates that the "Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides that the local property tax for 2016 is payable on or before 1 January 2016". That is only a couple of weeks away, so our discussion is very timely. We will discuss the people who must pay it rather than the exemptions mentioned by the Minister of State.

On the other side of the letter, the Revenue Commissioners indicate that with people making a single payment, if they pay by debit or credit card, they must make the payment any time but no later than 7 January 2016, which is a few weeks away. For those paying by single debit authority, the payment must be completed online by 7 January 2016, with the Revenue Commissioners deducting the local property tax amount from the current account on 21 March 2016, unless an earlier date is specified. A number of people use the phased payment method. If a person opts for deduction at source from a salary or occupational pension, the first payment for 2016 will be the first pay date in 2016. If a person has it deducted at source from certain social welfare payments, it will be deducted on a phased payment basis, with the first payment in 2016. Where a person has it deducted at source from a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine payment, it will be taken from the Department's payment in 2016, which is interesting, as it could come at the end of the year. Some people might get an extra 11 or 12 months interest-free credit with that. People paying by monthly direct debit will see the first payment made on 15 January 2016.

It is timely we are discussing this tax now, as it is due to be paid by most householders in the next couple of weeks. It is fortunate that the Minister of State is here today as an amendment of mine on Committee Stage relates to flooding. Before he leaves the House today, I want the Minister of State to give a commitment in respect of houses currently flooded that they will not have to pay the local property tax for 2016 to 2018, inclusive. The Government has the ability to proffer some gesture from Government funds to these people. We can discuss the detail of the amendment on Committee Stage. The point is very clear. The Taoiseach has said the Minister of State is going to Bandon, Crossmolina, Athlone and Portumna, among other places, in the coming weeks. The Minister of State cannot say that flooding is terrible but people must pay their local property tax at the start of January.

If a Government empathises with its citizens, it could not go down that route and no self-respecting Government will send people to hold hands, stand with them in wellington boots in knee-high water and tell them not to forget to pay the local property tax. It is not on and the Government could not seriously ask people to do it. It will have to take immediate action with the issue and I hope there will be an announcement in the Chamber that there is a little bit of empathy and common sense arising from the hardship and suffering of citizens suffering flooding at the moment. It should be recognised by the Government rather than having it exploit a photo opportunity in boats, with cows stranded in fields and elderly people forced from their houses. We want to see a little follow-through from the Government in the local property tax payment.

We need to see evidence of that here today.

It is also very relevant that the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, is in the Chamber dealing with this Bill. My colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, submitted a parliamentary question to him on 17 November regarding the amount of money for flood relief works in 2015. The Minister of State indicated that "the total funding allocation, current and capital, for the Office of Public Works [...] overall Flood Risk Management Programme in 2015 is €87.815 [million]" and that this includes expenditure on capital relief works and other items, such as various surveys. He went on to state "the largest element of funding is allocated for the OPW's flood relief capital works activities at €61.284 [million]". He further stated:

Expenditure to 31st October, 2015 on the OPW's overall Flood Risk Management Programme is approximately €35.691 million. There have been unanticipated delays in the progression of some flood relief schemes but the outturn for expenditure in 2015 on the Programme overall is projected to be €73.323 million. The OPW intend to apply to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to carry forward an element of the capital saving ...

That capital saving is money that this House voted for him to spend on flood relief works. This is not a saving. It is another example of the public service using a crazy term to describe something. There was no saving, it is just money that was not spent. Money not spent is not money saved-----

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