Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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199. To ask the Minister for Finance the status of the local property tax in respect of those on social protection assistance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42625/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Local Property Tax legislation provides a number of reliefs and exemptions from Local Property Tax (LPT) for such residential property owners as described by the Deputy in the details supplied with his Question. Firstly, an exemption is available for residential properties .

In addition, there are two different types of relief available in respect of properties that are occupied by people who are incapacitated or who have a disability. The first is an exemption from LPT for properties that have been constructed, adapted or acquired because of their suitability for occupation by individuals who are permanently and totally incapacitated to such an extent that they are unable to maintain themselves and whose condition is so severe that it dictates the type of property they can live in. The second relief takes the form of a reduction in the chargeable value of a property that has been adapted to make it more suitable for occupation by a person with a disability, where the adaptation work has resulted in an increase in the chargeable value of the property and the payment of additional LPT.  I propose to bring legislation before the Oireachtas shortly to give effect to recommendations in the recent Report on the Review of the LPT in relation to changed approaches to the implementation of inter aliathe reliefs from LPT in respect of properties occupied by persons with disabilities.

There are also payment deferral options available to certain property owners whose income is below specified  thresholds or who have experienced personal insolvency or financial hardship, during a particular year. In these situations, a property owner is entitled to defer payment of his or her LPT liability, in full or partially. The thresholds for full deferral are €15,000 per annum for a single person or €25,000 for a couple and €25,000 (single) or €35,000 (couple) for deferral of 50% of the liability. These thresholds can also be increased by an amount equivalent to 80% of any annual mortgage interest payable on the person's main residence. 

Interest is charged on LPT amounts deferred at a rate of 4% per annum instead of  the 8% interest charge applied to late or non-payment of LPT.

For those who qualify for deferral but do not wish to defer their payment, or those who do not qualify for deferral because they do not meet the necessary criteria, Revenue has provided a wide range of payment options, some of which can be phased over the course of the year including deduction-at-source from payments received from the Department of Social Protection.

If the Deputy wishes to provide details of any particular case, I will ask my officials to pass this information to Revenue in order that a specific response can be provided regarding any options available.