Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)

The local property tax is an unjust tax on the family home. It should never have been introduced. A home should never have been turned into a financial asset. It should be treated, not as a source of wealth but as a necessity. The original household charge was brought in during the crash when the troika came to town. Like many other measures from the time of austerity, it was supposed to have been temporary. Unfortunately, for struggling families, it has remained part of Government policy and has become part of the cost-of-living crisis for many working families. Pensioners and single parents are expected to pay the same tax as millionaires, simply because they have the same postcode.

Sinn Féin has been consistent in its opposition to this regressive tax. As a councillor on Fingal County Council, every year I tabled a motion looking for the full 15% allowable rate reduction, while also arguing that the LPT should have been abolished. Unfortunately, the ruling group in Fingal County Council, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and some Independents, did not support this. In government, Sinn Féin would abolish the property tax and replace it with direct funding for local authorities. We would phase out this unjust tax and we have always accounted for this move in our alternative budgets. We are committed to taxing wealth in order to reduce the burden on ordinary workers and to using this money to deliver quality infrastructure and local government services.

This Bill provides for local authorities to vary the property tax upwards by 25%. On paper, that appears to be beneficial to the local authorities. If a council decides to increase the home tax by 25%, it does not get to keep and spend the extra revenue raised. This funding remains only a small fraction of the overall council budget. Local authorities are starved of funding and no amount of tinkering with the property tax is going to change that reality. One of the central faults of the property tax is there is no ability-to-pay clause, which is very punitive for those on social welfare or low incomes. People can defer the payment of the local property tax if they meet certain criteria, but this is not an exemption and the bill eventually has to be paid, with interest.

According to the Central Statistics Office, property prices have increased by a national average of 23% since November 2021. People's incomes have not risen at the same pace, however. I will give some examples from Fingal. The average price of a house in 2021 was €320,000. Today, it is €445,000. That is the increase over four years. Properties for sale in a new development in Swords went on the market last week. A two-bedroom terraced property costs €485,000 and a three-bedroom semi-detached house is €595,000. That is absolutely shocking. It puts buying a house out of the reach of young couples and the average family.

Ultimately, the aim of this Bill is to raise an additional €45 million through the local property tax. We will continue to oppose increases in the local property tax at council level until we are in a position to reduce this household charge to the rubbish bin of history. We will call on other parties to support us.

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