Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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316. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will provide a value for money report to businesses affected by Revaluation 2017; his views on whether business paying more will benefit substantially in the increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16188/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Commissioner for Valuation has sole responsibility for all valuation matters except appeals of valuation procedures set out under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 which come under the remit of an independent Valuation Tribunal. The Valuation Acts come under the aegis of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality.

Under Part 5 of the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015, the Commissioner of Valuation is conducting a revaluation of all commercial and industrial properties throughout the State. To date, revaluations have been completed in South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dublin City Council, Waterford City and County Council and Limerick City and County Council. I understand that revaluations in 10 local authorities, including Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin and Westmeath County Councils are due to be completed this year with valuations to take effect for rates purposes for 2018.

I am aware of recent media reports that certain business owners have stated that they will face higher rates bills. However, it is not the purpose of a revaluation to increase or decrease the total amount of commercial rates collected by local authorities but rather to ensure that the valuations used for rating purposes are up-to-date and reflect current market conditions. With this in mind, it is possible that some ratepayers may see the rateable valuation of their properties increase while other ratepayers may see the rateable valuation of their properties decrease. Section 56 of the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015, as amended by section 8 of the Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Act 2006, provides that I, as Minister, can make an order directing a rating authority to limit the overall amount of income it could raise through rates in the year following a revaluation to the total amount of rates liable to be paid to it in the previous year, adjusted for inflation. Rate limitation orders have been made in each of the local authorities that have undergone a revaluation to date and I will be making further orders later this year in respect of the rating authorities currently undergoing revaluations.

Independent oversight of the local government sector is provided by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), which was established in July 2014 under the Local Government Reform Act. Its functions are wide ranging, involving the scrutiny of performance generally and financial performance specifically, supporting best practice, overseeing implementation of national local government policy and public service reform by local government bodies.