Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the way he plans to fund local government in 2013 if he manages to implement the property tax proposed for next year; if he will provide a breakdown per annum of the sources and amounts of local government funding between 2006 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39042/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland contains a commitment to introduce a property tax for 2012. This 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 the demand for such services.

I established an Inter-Departmental expert group tasked with designing a property tax and the Group, chaired by Dr. Don Thornhill, considered the structures and modalities for an equitable valuation-based property tax. The Group has completed its work and submitted a report to me on 14 June 2012 which will be considered by Government in due course. It is expected that decisions on the new property tax will be taken in the context of Budget 2013. A Government decision has been taken to give the Revenue Commissioners responsibility for preparing the relevant legislation and the administration and collection of the "Local Property Tax". Appropriate preparatory work is being undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners.

General-Purpose Grants are just one of the sources of revenue for local authorities. Income from local sources such as commercial rates, housing rents, environmental and other waste charges, and charges for non-domestic water services provide over half of the current funding needs of local authorities. The balance of the funding is provided through specific State grants, the most important of which are local and regional road grants. Grants for capital purposes are provided separately by a range of Government Departments and agencies.

The following table sets out the sources and amounts of local government revenue funding from 2006 to 2012.

* Local authority budgets