Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State.The broad thrust of the Bill is welcome. I understand the valuation is being deferred to 2019. It is admirable that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, reached out to Dr. Thornhill. I know of some of his previous work in the public service and he is a formidable public servant. I also welcome the fact the Minister of State is seeking waivers for people with disabilities and houses affected by pyrite. I echo Senator Darragh O’Brien’s points about pyrite.

What is a definition of a disability? Will this include blindness or people with intellectual disabilities? They may not have a claim because they may have been born that way but they should. Homes made valueless by natural disasters, such as flooding, should be exempt. I hope the Minister of State will take that on board. In Craughwell, some people’s homes have been wiped out. The same happened in Claregalway and Carnmore in 2009 but the Office of Public Works, OPW, has done work since and they were fine. I do not know who was sitting on the job but in certain areas, work was not done. It is appalling to think property tax and water bills are being sent to those homes, which are uninhabitable. It would be very wise if the Minister of State asked the councils to identify affected homes and if a letter of comfort was sent to them stating that they are exempt until they are habitable again. It is a minuscule amount given the horrors they face.

I tabled a Commencement Matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Finance, which the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government took, looking for a credit for any family paying management charges against their property tax. This is a big issue. For example, in Lackagh, Turloughmore, families are paying €600 a year in management charges and maybe €250 in property tax. They agreed to pay the property tax on the basis that local services, such as grass cutting and lighting, etc., would be provided but nothing has changed. They do not see any value and believe they are getting nothing for paying their property tax. They feel duped. Families in the Merlin Park area are paying up to €2,000 a year in management charges. They have no case against the management company, which must provide the services. They thought the local authority would provide the services once the property tax kicked in and that they would get some credit. However, the Government has stripped councils dry and they are in very bad shape. I have seen the income for councils, which has steadily decreased since 2008. The amount they get from the property tax barely keeps them ticking over. Everyone feels duped. The councils are in terrible shape and cannot meet their needs. The home owner is, to some extent, blaming the council but it all goes back to the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Finance. This will be a serious election issue. I asked for a credit on a sliding scale against the property tax for anybody paying both management charges and property tax. The Minister gave a very cheeky response to the Commencement Matter saying no credit would be given. I was disappointed and the Minister of State should reconsider that.

To some extent, the Minister of State could justify having a local property tax and water tax during an emergency. According to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, the emergency is partly over and yet when the new universal social charge, USC, rates come into effect, the people at the top rate will pay 49.5% in tax. This is a very high tax economy with little to show for it. It could be justified during the emergency when we were in bad financial shape. The economy is said to be growing, although I am not completely convinced we are out of the emergency but the Minister of State must get his story right. He cannot have it every way. I would like him to respond to the questions about the credit for people paying management charges and councils paying property tax on rented properties and to indicate whether they pay on vacant properties because the long turnaround is not good enough.