Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he will address a query (details supplied) regarding the local property tax. [14872/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The enactment of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013 on 13 March introduced a number of amendments to the original Act, which includes relief for properties adapted for use by disabled persons. I would like to clarify that qualifying for this relief does not confer on the property an exemption from the charge to Local Property Tax. Section 15A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a reduction in the market value of a residential property that has been adapted for occupation by a disabled person where the adaptation has been grant-aided by a local authority. The person with the disability must occupy the property as his or her sole or main residence after the adaptation is completed. The reduction in value is limited to the lesser of the chargeable value attributable to the adaptation work carried out on the property and the maximum grant payable under the relevant local authority scheme. The relief ends on the sale or transfer of a property that has been adapted, unless the person with the disability continues to reside in the property.

I would like to clarify that a person who adapted a home before 2001 is not excluded from this relief. The relief is dependent on local authority grant aid being paid under S.I. 607 of 2001. However, this particular set of regulations covers adaptation work carried out on or after 1 March 1993 and on foot of applications received by a local authority up to 1 November 2007 at which stage S.I. 670 of 2007 came into effect. Thus, all houses which were grant aided in respect of adaptations in the last 20 years or so could potentially qualify for a measure of relief under section 15A.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to exempt pensioners from paying the property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14873/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government agreed with the recommendation of the "Thornhill Group" (the inter-Departmental Group, chaired by Dr Don Thornhill, which considered the structures and modalities of a property tax) that a universal liability to the Local Property Tax (LPT) should apply to all owners of residential property with a limited number of exemptions. Limiting the exemptions available allows the rate to be kept low for those liable persons who do not qualify for an exemption. There is no specific exemption from the requirement to pay LPT for pensioners under the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), though such persons may be entitled to an exemption on other grounds or may qualify for a deferral subject to meeting the qualifying conditions. The Thornhill Group considered the provision of waivers or deferrals for households unable to pay the tax or where a payment requirement would cause hardship. As a general principle, eligibility for deferral should be based on gross income. The system of deferrals in place is targeted at cases of need, where there is an inability to pay the local property tax under specific conditions.

The property must be the sole or main residence of the liable person and his or her gross income must be below certain thresholds. The thresholds are €15,000 for a single person and €25,000 for a married couple, civil partners or cohabiting couple. Deferral in respect of half of the local property tax payable is possible, where the gross income is above the threshold but less than €25,000 in the case of a single person and €35,000 in the case of a couple. (These partial deferral limits are each €5,000 higher than those recommended by the Thornhill Group). Owner/occupiers whose sole source of income is a state pension should qualify for a deferral. Deferred Local Property Tax and interest will have to be discharged on the sale/transfer of the property.