Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the proposals in this Bill. My colleague has made a very valid case for the modest reductions that are being sought. There is an inherent unfairness for citizens who are living in apartments or multi-unit developments and are subject to management company fees which, in effect, form a kind of double taxation when they are hit by the local property tax as well. The reality is that these people pay their local property tax, which is collected by Revenue and goes to the local authority, while they are also hit with a substantial management company fee. The fact that there are different collectors at the door is of little consequence to them. They do not care which fund it is going into, whether it is going into the public purse or the private one. All they know when Zacchaeus comes to the door is that their purse is going to be a lot lighter when he is gone.

There definitely needs to be a more progressive way. We need to look at how people are being charged for services and should ensure that they are not charged on the double. There should be some provision, as outlined by Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to ease the burden that is placed on them, especially when we see the type of developments that are being constructed. Such developments have changed massively over the last 20 years, predominantly in our cities in terms of the number of apartments being built in Dublin, as stated by my colleague. However, these patterns are also changing in our towns. As a result, management companies are more prevalent in our towns, especially in commuter counties. I see it in my own county of Meath, in towns like Navan and Trim in my constituency and Ashbourne in Deputy Thomas Byrne's constituency, where development is under way again, that the mixed type of development is predominant, with duplex and apartment developments sitting side by side with estate development. That is what has been demanded of developers by planners, because of the densities that councils are seeking in these commuter counties. In Clonee in County Meath, just a few miles down the road, two out of every three households live in apartments.

On the subject of management companies and the value that people get, in many cases the fee they pay results in a great deal for them in their estates. They can see the net benefit in their area as the fee goes towards upkeep and maintenance. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, talks to people who live in estates where there are no management company fees. Residents' associations go around collecting subscriptions so that they can conduct the grass cutting in the estate for the year, get some planting done and generally keep the estate in good order. The job is getting harder and harder each year and I know from working with many residents' associations that the level of subscriptions continues to fall. They are hit at the doors with the line, "Why would I pay a residents' association fee when I am paying local property tax?" Of course the council will not come around and cut the grass or maintain the estate. However, the seeds for that misconception were sown when the Government had the household charge and sent glossy leaflets to every home in the country giving the perception that this is exactly what it would pay for.

Fast forward one year; the local property tax was introduced when it was realised that the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, could not collect the money for the household charge. Revenue appeared on the scene, Zacchaeus hit the streets and the money was collected. There was sleight of hand, conveniently around the same time that the Government butchered local democracy and killed town councils. The general purpose grant system was eliminated. It was a significant amount of funding for anyone who was on a council. Instead of councils being in a healthier financial position after the introduction of the local property tax and being able to achieve all that was promised in the glossy leaflet sent at the time of the household charge, all that was accomplished was one fund coming in and another going out the back door. Councils were no better off and unable to accomplish what was being promised. It is only right and proper that we ease the burden on those faced with management company fees by virtue of the types of developments being sought in counties, where such developments are wanted. The proposals put forward by Deputy Darragh O'Brien are modest, fair and equitable.

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