Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is wholly unacceptable, having posed a question about deficiencies in existing legislation, to get an answer, half of which is taken up with telling me what the legislation contains. I know what the legislation contains which is why we are here. The legislation is not fit for purpose and in fairness, the Minister agreed with me on that point previously. Under the legislation as it is currently constructed, homes with pyrite which are valueless and which people cannot renovate, extend, decorate or sell but which do not have a sufficient amount of pyrite to warrant inclusion in the pyrite resolution scheme do not get a local property tax exemption. The Minister acknowledged the problem the last time we spoke about this and said that there was an administrative solution. What he seems to be telling me now is that people can say that their property is basically valueless, that it is in the lowest category of between €0 and €100,000, and then only pay €90 per year but that is not good enough.

It is not good enough, having acknowledged that there is a deficit or an anomaly in the legislation, to ask people to make payments on properties with no value in the same way as those whose properties have a value are making payments. I would like to hear the Minister's thoughts on the need to change the law in this area. I appreciate that it might be difficult for him to make such a change, given that he has said he is not interested in standing for office again. I realise we are in an intermediate period, but that is of no relevance to those who are required to make payments on valueless properties.

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