Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Finance if a home that has been certified by a consulting engineer as having pyrite present but has not gone through laboratory testing will qualify for property tax relief. [3994/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The exemption from Local Property Tax (LPT) based on "significant pyritic damage" was comprehensively dealt with in a number of Parliamentary Questions last year, including Questions no. 217 (8212/14) on 18/2/14, no. 121 (19698/14) on 30/4/14, no. 43 (26462/14) on 19/6/14, no. 14 (37016/14) on 2/10/14 and no. 38 (41718/14) on 5/11/2014.

Section 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a temporary exemption of at least three consecutive years from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT) for residential properties that have been certified under Regulations made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (S.I. No. 147 of 2013) as having "significant pyritic damage". These Regulations describe the methodology that must be used when a property is being assessed for pyrite damage.

Under the Regulations, significant pyritic damage" means a residential property which -

(a)   has a Damage Condition Rating of 2 or a Damage Condition Rating of 1 (with progression) established on foot of a Building Condition Assessment carried out by a competent person under and in accordance with Irish Standard 398-1:2013, and

(b)   has sub-floor hardcore material classified, by the appropriate competent person(s), as susceptible to significant or limited expansion, established on foot of testing the sub-floor hardcore material.

The legislation in this area is consistent with the recommendation set out in the Report of the Pyrite Panel (July 2012) which recommended that an exemption from the LPT should be provided for dwellings where damage from pyritic heave has been proven by testing.

Revenue has an obligation to act in accordance with section 10A of the LPT legislation which requires that an LPT exemption can only apply where the residential property has been assessed and a certificate confirming "significant pyritic damage" has been issued. This is the only type of certificate that is relevant and a homeowner cannot claim the exemption until it has been issued. A certificate may be obtained from a competent person, i.e. a person, company or partnership having sufficient theoretical and practical training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken as detailed in Irish Standard 398-1:2013.