Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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160. To ask the Minister for Finance if an application for exemption from local property tax in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17676/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that Section 10B of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a full exemption from Local Property Tax (LPT) for properties occupied by individuals who are permanently and totally incapacitated to such an extent that they are unable to maintain themselves.

The Deputy may be aware that following a review of the exemption in May 2014 I extended the scope of reliefs from LPT to certain disabled and/or incapacitated individuals to correct anomalies and inequities where there is no award from a court or the Injuries Board or where no public trust fund was established or where no grant was received from a local authority.

Revenue has confirmed to me that it has published detailed guidelines on its website at www.revenue.ie describing the revised qualifying criteria under the new arrangements, including information on the application process.

In regard to the specific case to which the Deputy refers, Revenue has advised me that the person in question only recently lodged a claim for full exemption as provided for by Section 10B of the Act. However, the application form (Form LPT 7) was only partially completed and the LPT team was obliged to return it to him requesting additional supporting information, including a request that he file the statutory LPT Return confirming the correct Property Valuation Band for his property

I am assured that as soon as the revised application form and statutory LPT Return are returned to Revenue, the LPT team will review his entitlement to the exemption as a priority.

Finally, Revenue has confirmed that if the exemption is granted, it will apply to all years from 2013 to 2016 inclusive.