Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I raise this matter having been contacted, along with my colleague Councillor Nick Killian, by residents in Ratoath, County Meath, who live on an unfinished - though not very problematic - estate that has not yet been taken in charge. The issue they raise is the inherent unfairness of the household charge. A different level of service is provided in different counties. Many people moving to County Meath from County Dublin, including Fingal, are shocked to find there is no parks department in County Meath, which is a major feature of Fingal County Council and of public interaction with the council. There are differences in the level of service provided to different estates based on whether they have or have not been taken in charge. I am aware of an estate in Stamullen where the lights are not working but it is not of a sufficiently low standard for the residents to be exempt from the household charge. They are getting a lower level of service yet they are required to pay the ¤100 charge and, presumably, will have to pay the property tax next year. Within the local authority areas in County Meath, there is a further difference in the level of service, whereby people actually get more services from the local authority if they live in a town council area. While I want to protect and enhance that, the fact remains that people in a county area pay the ¤100 while people in a town area also pay ¤100 for a different level of service.

The Government made a huge mistake when it promoted the household charge as funding local services because people see these discrepancies and say "It is not fair. That person is getting a better service than me although I pay the same ¤100". Many believe they get nothing for their ¤100 and, while that is not entirely correct, there is a ring of truth to it. I met a woman in Ashbourne, County Meath, who owes ¤600 every year to her management company for the upkeep of her estate, which is not a walled-in or gated estate and has a public open space within it. In addition, she has to pay ¤100 to Meath County Council, which she feels is an unjust charge that is being imposed when she is not getting the required level of service.

There are huge inequities with the household charge, particularly with regard to different levels of service. The Government should look at what local authorities are doing and should be doing and adjust the household charge accordingly.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The EU-IMF programme of financial support, which was signed up to by Senator Byrne's party, contains a commitment to introduce a property tax for 2012.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That will lose them votes.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The programme reflects the need to put the funding of locally delivered services on a sound financial footing, improve accountability and better align the cost of providing services with demand. It was considered that, in light of the complex issues involved, a local property tax would take time to introduce and, accordingly, the Government decided to introduce a household charge in 2012 as an interim measure.

An appropriate broadening of the revenue base for local government will be achieved through the household charge and the forthcoming full local property tax, which is important in ensuring that local authorities have the necessary resources to continue to deliver services to their communities. As this topic demonstrates, the introduction this year of the household charge and the introduction next year of the local property tax have an additional benefit, beyond that of a more sustainable system of funding the local government sector, in that a local property tax will direct attention to the local services that are being funded by that tax. Citizens will, I hope, engage with their local elected representatives in a new fashion to address the services that are being provided and the quality of those services, thereby altering in a meaningful way the relationship between the taxpayer citizen and the local authority which is funded by those taxes. This change in the local dynamics of accountability will, I believe, have a transformative beneficial impact over the long run, further reinforced by the general programme of local government reform.

The diverse services provided by local government are very important for our collective well-being. The range of local authority services include the following: road maintenance and cleaning; libraries; fire and emergency services; street lighting; parks and other recreation and cultural public amenities; spatial and development planning and other similar services; regulatory and inspection functions; and business support services. All primary local authorities provide such services. Crucially, they also provide democratic representation for communities, which is a unique function of local authorities. We all benefit from the services local authorities provide, even when such benefits accrue at a community level, such as from the positive contribution libraries make to society as a whole, or the benefit of having access to services one may need in the future, such as fire and emergency services.

The household charge and the local property tax are not intended to reflect the degree to which an individual household, or set of households, receive services. Liability is not reflective of service usage at any one point in time, not least because such a mechanism, in my view, would be regressive and inefficient. Rather, funding from property-related taxes reinforces the link between decisions on service provision as a whole in a local authority and the funding of those services. I thank the Senator for raising this issue.