Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the criteria that was applied to decide if estates are eligible for a waiver for the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15385/13]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an estate (details supplied) in County Dublin was not exempt from the local property tax on the basis that it is an unfinished estate. [15390/13]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an estate (details supplied) in County Dublin was not exempted from the property tax on the basis that it is an unfinished estate. [15391/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the criteria used to determine which unfinished housing estates will be exempt from the local property tax. [15433/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if all houses in the unfinished estates listed are exempt from the local property tax. [15434/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an unfinished estate (details supplied) in County Carlow was not exempted from the local property tax. [15460/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an unfinished estate (details supplied) in County Waterford was not exempted from the local property tax. [15461/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an unfinished estate (details supplied) in County Carlow was not exempted from the local property tax. [15462/13]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the rationale behind the exclusion of estates (details supplied) in Dublin from the list of estates exempt from the local property tax. [15496/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 202 to 204, inclusive, 208, 209, 213 to 215, inclusive and 218 together.

An exemption from the local property tax applies to developments listed in the schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013.

The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012.

The Survey was carried out over the course of summer 2012 by my Department in conjunction with local authorities and the Housing Agency.

The categorisation methodology for the survey was different to that which was used in 2011 and which provided the basis for the waiver from the household charge. That earlier categorisation related largely to the level of on-site activity at the time the 2011 survey was carried out and had less to do with the physical character of a development. The 2012 survey was based purely and objectively on the actual state of completion of a development. Only developments that were deemed by local authorities to be in a “seriously problematic condition”, regardless of whether a developer was on or off site, were included.

For purposes of preparing the final list of developments to which the exemption from the local property tax would apply local authorities were asked by my Department to confirm or update the then existing list as appropriate.