Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I highlight inherent inequity in the treatment of small-time landlords of residential properties, specifically the manner in which rental income is treated. A landlord pays local property tax but gets no credit for this when calculating income tax liability on the rental income. No matter what way we look at that, it amounts to double taxation. Not only are these landlords not given credit for the property tax but they must also pay USC and PRSI on the same tranche of income but get nothing for doing so.

Sometimes we wonder why things are not straightforward for landlords or about the reasons people do not want to become landlords. We know about "accidental" landlords or those who may have a property or two who have fallen into a position where they became landlords. This matter must be addressed. There was a review of the local property tax and it will be examined again next year. Equity in our tax system requires that there should not be double taxation. Owners of a commercial property are entitled to deduct commercial rates, which are in many ways equivalent the local property tax. That tax, therefore, is deductible for a commercial rental property but not a residential rental property.

Everybody knows about another matter that is unsatisfactory. I was talking to a man the other day who has a commercial property that he rents to a tenant. He is paying a tax rate of 52% and related charges on the income while a vulture fund that owns a commercial property beside him does not pay anything. Many of our sensibilities are offended by this and we seriously need some action on the matter as revenue to the State is being lost. The small-time landlord is being squeezed out of the sector.

I also raise the provisions for retrofitting homes and the climate action agenda. In 2011, application was made by the Government to the European Commission under state aid rules for the Government to be allowed to place a PSO levy on electricity customers to finance the co-firing of the midlands peat-burning power stations so they could also burn biomass. We all know that this was expected to go to 2027 but the arrangement will cease in 2020. There is a provision in the budget of €70 million per annum to be collected under the levy and I wonder what will happen to the money as the co-firing will not be allowed and will not happen. Will there be a reduction in people's electricity bills or will the Government just pocket the savings? In the context of just transition, which we have all discussed, we are all trying to protect people who are now faced with a carbon tax increase but who are on low incomes. One of the obvious ways to do this is by helping to retrofit houses. Over the summer we witnessed a debacle when the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, ran out of money for a number of schemes used to help people on the lowest incomes to retrofit their houses.

The vast majority of the money from the PSO levy goes to Bord na Móna and the ESB but perhaps it can be redirected to reduce the numbers on the waiting list trying to make it easier to heat homes and save on bills, as we know there has been an increase in the carbon tax. These retrofitting jobs are creating employment in local economies, with contractors carrying out the work. Many of them have upskilled and have people working for them. They may have had to let those people go temporarily because we ran out of money for a while. We do not want to lose people with skills and we want to fund people so they can be warmer in their homes. Will the Minister of State see if this money, which will not be spent on the renewable energy feed-in tariff, REFIT, 3 scheme to Bord na Móna and the ESB, can be redirected to the just transition for these people in fuel poverty?