Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to ensure that information gathered from the stamp duty regime is used to compile data on house valuation to inform a valuations database. [8798/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am assuming that the question relates to the compilation of a property valuations database that would be publicly available. The Programme for National Government contains a commitment to improve the quality of information available on the housing market by requiring that the selling price of all dwellings be recorded in a publicly available national housing price database. I am informed by the Minister for Justice and Equality that he intends to give effect to this commitment by assigning statutory responsibility for publishing details of residential property sales prices to the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

The Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009, which was published by the previous Government, provides for the establishment of this authority and is currently awaiting Dáil Committee Stage. The Minister for Justice and Equality intends to table amendments to the Bill which will expand the authority's statutory functions to include the publication of residential property sales prices. Similar amendments had been proposed during the last Dáil by the previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. However, the Deputy will be aware that the Revenue Commissioners treat taxpayer confidentiality very seriously and s77 Finance Act 2011 contains new provisions underpinning that confidentiality. In particular, the Revenue Commissioners are specifically excluded from divulging taxpayer information in the absence of a statutory requirement.