Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the communications he has had with local authorities regarding the impact of the property tax on local authority housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5568/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides that local authorities will be liable to pay the Local Property Tax (LPT) on their properties in the same way as any other residential property owner, unless the properties are used to accommodate people with special housing needs. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that they are liaising with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to establish how local authorities will provide the Revenue Commissioners with information in relation to their LPT liability and the timing and manner of the payment of this liability. The recently published Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013, which provides that where local authority owned properties are not exempt from LPT, the market value of each of these properties will be deemed to fall into the first valuation band, that is €100,000 or less, which represents an LPT charge of €45 per property for 2013. This initial valuation of local authority owned properties will be valid up to and including 2016. It will be a matter for the local authorities themselves to decide whether they will pass on the LPT liability to their tenants in the form of an increase in rent or whether they will absorb the liability without recourse to their tenants. The 2013 Bill also provides that local authorities will have until 1 January 2014 to pay the LPT due for 2013. These changes are of course subject to the Bill being passed by the Oireachtas.