Written answers

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Department of Finance

Property Tax Exemptions

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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382. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of properties that have been granted an exemption from the Local Property Tax because they are affected by Pyrite; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32069/15]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that Section 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a temporary exemption of at least three 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".

The Regulations also specify the assessment methodology that must be applied to confirm the presence of significant pyritic damage, including that the Building Condition Assessment must be carried out by a qualified competent person (I.S. 398-1:2013). The Regulations also clearly specify the type of certification that must be produced before an exemption from LPT can be granted. This is the only type of certificate that is relevant under current legislation.

Since the introduction of LPT over 2,000 property owners have claimed exemption on foot of pyritic damage. Of these, 76 cases have qualified for the exemption and Revenue has put a hold on collection in approximately 600 other cases to give the owners in question time to secure the required supporting documentation. The remaining claims were either found to be ineligible following verification checks by Revenue or did not provide the required level of supporting documentation.

A review of the operation of LPT was recently submitted to me by Dr Don Thornhill and is currently being considered by my Department. Any recommendations that are included in the review findings in regard to pyritic damage will be considered in the context of the upcoming Budget. Until then Revenue has no alternative but to apply the eligibility criteria as currently set down.

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