Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Boyd Barrett and I have debated this issue on many occasions and he is correct that I have deferred the revaluation date for the local property tax to 1 November 2020. Significant work needs to be delivered next year. It can be delivered, but it will require consensus in the House for that to happen.

I differ with the Deputy in that I believe that the local property tax is an important part of how we fund local government now and into the future. I listened to what Dublin City Council had to say and the charges it made about me. There is no doubt they will make charges about me in the future regarding the revenue available to it. A city council of the scale of Dublin City Council should be able to manage its budget in such a way that the kind of charges and mooted increases it argues are needed do not happen. A governing alliance is in place on the council and I expect it to deliver a budget that meets the needs of Dubliners without the kind of charges it has alleged need to be introduced. It is possible for Governments to do that and, therefore, it should be possible for the council to do the same.

The Deputy might clarify his comments on the relationship between house values and people's incomes. I sensed he began to do so as his contribution concluded. I wrote down what he said. He said that the value of a person's house has nothing to do with his or her wealth. That is not correct. It is the case, as he went on to say, that the value of a person's home does not correlate to the income within that home. The Deputy is fully correct in that. For the Deputy to say that the value of a person's house has nothing to do with his her wealth is not the case and perhaps he might elaborate on that.

The value of people's homes is a significant part of their wealth. I appreciate that the local property tax is a big bill for people to pay and I am aware of the effect it has on people's take home pay and income. It is because I am sensitive to that fact that I am trying to avoid significant unplanned changes and that is why I believe a valuation date on 1 November is more appropriate. I believe local property taxes have an important part to play, now and in the future, in ensuring that the needs of local communities can be met.

From the different parts of the country in which I have opportunities to work in, I have been able to see how changes have been made in local property taxes. Decisions have been made to increase the tax and the revenue raised has been used to fund important work undertaken by local authorities. I have seen that work myself. I refer to where elected councillors decided they would have a lower rate of increase in the local property tax or increase it. The revenue generated was then used to fund important work within the communities those councillors represent. That is the way I believe local government should happen and, over time, I would like to increase the ability for those kinds of decisions to happen.

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