Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if, in relation to Sections 20 and 21 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, he will outline the timeframe he envisages for local authorities to do their estimates in view of the 30 September deadline for setting the adjustment and the legislative specification for a public consultation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5463/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Sections 19 to 21 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, which deal with the local adjustment factor, do not come into operation until 1 July 2014. The first liability date for which the local adjustment factor will be operational is 1 November 2014. The local adjustment factor will be decided as part of the local authorities’ budgetary process. The 30 September deadline will allow the Revenue Commissioners time to update their systems accordingly. The reference to a public consultation process in the Act relates to regulations which the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government may make with respect to the setting of the local adjustment factor. No such regulations have been put in place by the Minister as of yet.

The Deputy may be aware that one of a further two draft economic and budgetary regulations, known as the “two-pack”, nearing finalisation in Europe, will introduce a common budgetary timeline for all euro area Member States. When this regulation is adopted and in force, all euro area Member States will be required to publish their draft budget for central government and the main parameters of all other General Government sub-sectors, including local government, no later than 15 October each year. The common budgetary timeline also foresees that the final budget should be adopted or fixed upon annually by 31 December. Accordingly, much of our existing budgetary process will have to be finalised earlier in the year.

As the two-pack has not yet been adopted, this requirement has not yet come into force but I can assure the Deputy that we will take the necessary actions to ensure that Ireland will comply with the new requirements once they have been agreed.