Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Bill introduces a separation between the publication date and the effective date. Currently, these dates are one in the same. The separation of the dates allows time for appeals to be heard and minimises losses in rates revenue for local authorities. Both of these amendments are needed to clarify which date is being referred to. The first is an amendment to clarify that it is the publication date specified in section 21(1) of the principal Act that shall not be later than three years after the commissioner makes a valuation order. This removes any ambiguity that may have surrounded the word "date" when used without qualification.

The second amendment is to section 56 of the Act, which section empowers the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to limit the aggregate rates collected in a rating authority area in the year following a revaluation. This is an important power as it assures ratepayers that revaluation is not about increasing rates but rather is about a fairer distribution of the rates burden based on modern valuations. The amendment is a technical change to the definition of "appropriate year" to reflect the change proposed for section 21 of the Act which would allow for a separation of the publication date and the effective date.