Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 943: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the return to the Exchequer if the tax on second homes were raised to €1,000. [34432/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Government has decided to broaden the revenue base of local authorities by introducing this charge on all non-principal private residences, including private rented accommodation, holiday homes and any other residential property that is not the owner's sole or main residence. The charge has been set at €200 per annum.

When the Bill was at Second Stage in the Houses, it was indicated that the charge could be expected to raise about €40 million a year, based on collection from approximately 200,000 properties. However, census and other data suggest that there may be 400,000 properties in the State liable for the charge and the annual potential yield could therefore be significantly higher than estimated at present.