Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Come the revolution. Come the revolution, indeed. As the Minister of State has already said, there are three aspects of the Bill that are welcome. It is important to state that incomes will not rise in accordance with property values between November 2016 and November 2019, particularly in the Dublin region. It is important to acknowledge that if we did not adjust property valuations, we would be significantly increasing taxation on people. Therefore, it is important to welcome this Bill.

Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I very much welcome the allowances being given for buildings that suffer from pyrite damage. I agree with the Senator that we are not going far enough in that respect. In estates suffering from pyrite damage, people will not be able to sell their properties which are, in effect, valueless. When we look at valuations, that must be taken into account.

On the adaptation grants, the allowances being made are most welcome. We live in an aging society in which people are living longer and we want them to live at home. When people make adjustments to their properties to allow that to happen, they should be rewarded instead of penalised for doing so. People have been living in fear of property tax. It is important that we give them some solace about what we, as a Government, intend to do. While this legislation may not be perfect, I welcome it and would very much welcome a broader discussion on the issue of the Thornhill report and on whether we should be using, as Senator Darragh O'Brien said, a site valuation tax or a tax based on square footage. It is an important debate to have.

I very much welcome the broadening of the tax base. Numerous reports have called for a broadening of the Irish tax base for a considerable period of time. Like many others, I have protested over the years against a tax system which is based far too much on income and transaction tax and which does not place half enough emphasis on asset values. We talk about the three Fs but the fact is that Ireland is one of the few sophisticated economies in the world that did not have a property tax until very recently. We are all aware of certain individuals who could give Cinderella a run for her money in terms of their ability to disappear at midnight. They do not have a tax code applied to them because they do not exceed 190 days residence here yet their children go to the same schools as my children, they drive on the same roads and some of them were born in the same hospitals as my children. It is just not good enough. We need to have a tax system that takes this into account appropriately.

Ultimately, one of the problems with the system we put in place is that it is neither fish nor fowl - it is not a property tax or a local services tax. I am in favour of the fact that 85% of the tax is spent in the local area.For example, I very much agree that apartment owners, who constitute a very considerable number of people who live in the Dublin region, do not have the fact that they pay very high management costs taken into account when their property tax is assessed. It is very important to consider that housing is more expensive in the Dublin region. People who live in the region must pay more for their homes and use more of their disposable incomes to put a roof over their heads. There is nothing about the local property tax system which takes this into account.

It is very important to bear in mind that many people living in negative equity in urban areas - houses in Galway are particularly expensive - are paying property tax based on a gross value of properties in respect of which they may have substantial debts. Such issues must be addressed. There should be a taxation system which takes into account the net value. I have no difficulty with people being taxed on the disposal of an asset and paying on the basis of any gain they make. I have a significant problem with people paying what is really a tax on their income based on what, for them, is not a value but which, in some cases, is actually a loss. However, we are not here today to discuss that issue.

I wish to refer to a final issue. The tax is based on the curtilage of up to one acre. If somebody is running a business, such as a farm or a market garden, that is fine. However, there are many people who live in counties surrounding Dublin and who trot out their ponies on their additional four acres of land. No charge is levied on that amenity value.