Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill. It is important that a tax like this be updated regularly. We are eight years on from the original evaluation in 2013. There is never a good time to update the valuations but we saw the consequence of not doing that. The revaluation of commercial property caused untold controversy because valuations that had been set years ago on the basis of rental values were suddenly changed to try to catch up with the reality of the marketplace. That caused serious consternation. The Minister is right to move to regular revaluation of properties on a four-year cycle. It will avoid these types of problems arising.

I do not know who it was but a wise person once said, "To tax and to please, no more than to love and be wise, is not given to men." I do not envy the Minister for Finance the task he has been given in trying to arrange a system of new valuations at lower rates. He has done the work of Solomon in trying to design a system that is as fair as possible but does not give a sudden shock to people who have been used to paying at a certain rate. A small number of people will see their property tax increase. I recognise that and that it will create a pushback but the Minister has done extraordinary work on this.

It is important that we recognise that this tax broadening measure, which was introduced some years ago, is something we should protect and keep as a viable source of revenue. So often in my career, I have seen taxes that were designed to broaden the tax base introduced and then whittled away by one allowance or another, some hard case or another special measure.

As a result, we ended up losing the capacity to broaden our tax base. The Minister has done a worthwhile job for us in ensuring this can be a solid part of our tax base into the future.

I agree with the points made by Deputy Nash. We need to rethink the ways in which we tax property. I hope that the Commission on Taxation and Welfare will look at some of the anomalies that have given rise to poor occupancy rates. People of my vintage are often rattling around in houses that are way beyond their needs at a time when others with families are cramped into small apartments. It is difficult to make those moves because the tax system does not facilitate it. Capital acquisitions tax, deposit interest retention tax and the rules about access to the fair deal scheme, the nursing home subvention, do not encourage people to make moves that are probably good for them and for the community. If those moves were made more attractive, people would make those moves. Every night in this country, we have 2 million bedrooms empty at a time when we have a housing crisis because of the poor occupancy patterns that are way out of line with the rest of Europe. We must think beyond the Bill. I hope the Commission on Taxation and Welfare will take a hard look at that.

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