Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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123. To ask the Minister for Finance regarding the review of the local property tax, if he will explain why the pyrite issue was included in this process, rather than being dealt with promptly, as the difficulty with the manner in which the pyrite exemption was worded and implemented had been apparent since the inception of the tax. [32833/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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It is a very poor reflection on the Department of Finance and very regrettable that I have to ask this question again. I have spoken about it on the record for almost two years and the Minister is on the record as agreeing with me. Home owners whose properties are virtually valueless because they have pyrite are supposed to have an exemption from the property tax. However, because the manner in which that tax is being implemented, they have not been able to avail of it.

It is something the Minister said he would have addressed long before now but, as we speak, people in that situation are getting demands from Revenue for a tax on a property that is worthless. Why has this been buried in the overall property tax review when it was well flagged as something that needed independent action before now?

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. As she is aware, I had initiated a review of the operation of the local property tax, LPT, earlier this year. The review was carried out by Dr. Don Thornhill, who chaired the interdepartmental group on the design of a local property tax in 2012. While Dr. Thornhill's current review focused mainly on property price developments, it also considered and made recommendations on a limited number of other issues relating to the efficient and effective operation of LPT. I considered it appropriate that Dr. Thornhill's review included the operation of the pyrite exemption for local property tax.

It was made clear during the passage of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act in 2013 that the exemption would be restricted to properties with significant pyritic damage and that not all damaged properties could avail of the exemption. Regulations made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in relation to testing, certification and the NSAI protocol were published in May 2013 and these restricted the LPT exemption to properties with significant pyritic damage where such damage had been proven by the appropriate testing and subsequently certified.

Before its establishment, it would have been envisaged that the Pyrite Remediation Board, PRB, would have remediated those properties that would have qualified for a LPT exemption and that the requirement to have the level of pyrite damage verified and certified would be a precondition for remediation. However, it transpired that only properties with a damage condition rating of 2 are being accepted for remediation by the PRB. Also, I understand the PRB is not testing and certifying all properties that are being remediated. That gives rise to two issues - first, properties with a damage condition rating of 1, with progression, are not being accepted for remediation by the PRB and, second, not all properties that are accepted for remediation are tested and certified. A property owner who might have only a damage condition rating of 1, or 1, with progression, established by a second test, and who wants to claim the LPT exemption, has to spend €1,500 to €2,000 on testing and certification. Properties with a damage condition rating of 2 are accepted for remediation but are not eligible for the LPT exemption unless they have the required certificate.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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With respect, there is nothing new in the Minister's response. We debated the issues during an amendment I tabled to the Finance Bill last year. I have the transcript of the debate. The problem is there was an anomaly in the drafting of the statutory instrument in the legislation, which means that for somebody to get his or her exemption of hundreds of euro, he or she will have to spend thousands of euro. The Minister is on the record of the Dáil as saying that was never envisaged but he is almost on the record almost a year ago as saying that he had instructed his officials to deal with the matter, he was examining all the options and he expected an early resolution. The reality is the State is remediating properties, probably at a cost of approximately €40,000 per house because it accepts those properties have pyrite, even though an infill test was not done, but the other arm of the State, namely, Revenue, expects those very same people to get a test done at a cost to them of approximately €2,000 to get an exemption of perhaps €400 or €500 over the course of three years. It is completely unworkable. I do not ask the Minister to identify the problem - we know what that is - but could he outline whether the solution is any nearer than it was two years ago when I first asked him?

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The outcome of Dr. Thornhill's review has been presented to me in report form and is currently being considered and will be published on budget day, in two weeks' time. I will outline my response to this very important issue on budget day.

Any resolution to the pyrite issues may necessitate a change in the relevant provisions of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, and-or the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Pyrite Exemption) Regulations 2013. If legislative change is required, then I will examine the possibilities for its advance application on an administrative basis with the Revenue Commissioners.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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We have a problem because that is really not good enough. We have been told previously that the Thornhill report would be available no later than the summer, which I took to mean I would have it no later than then.

We are well into autumn now and we are expecting yet another announcement on budget day. The points the Minister made about legislative change were well flagged last year. Is his Government going to announce, on budget day, that it has a potential solution even though, three years ago, its backbenchers were telling people they would be exempt from the property tax if their homes were affected by pyrite? I plead with the Minister on behalf of homeowners who, as we speak, are struggling to pay their mortgages and who, in some instances, have had their houses accepted into the remediation scheme but who are receiving harassment letters from Revenue demanding payment and are being told that this money will be deducted from their salaries. These individuals find themselves in their current position not through any fault of their own but because of the manner in which the legislation was drafted. To receive a response now which is - almost word for word - what I got 20 months ago to the effect that it may need a legislative change, or something else, is not really good enough. If it was the other way around and homeowners owed Revenue money, the latter would not be as tardy as it has been on this issue.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am considering Dr. Thornhill's report and I hope to be able to announce, on budget day, an appropriate response which will meet many of the concerns the Deputy has raised.