Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the amount of local property tax collected by each local authority in 2016; the population of each local authority; the contribution each local authority made to the equalisation fund; the amount they received from the equalisation fund; the basis on which this is collected and distributed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22084/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Local Property Tax (LPT) is collected and administered by the Revenue Commissioners and is remitted to the Central Fund. Since 2014, the Minister for Finance pays an equivalent to the amount collected in LPT into the Local Government Fund. The Revenue Commissioners publish LPT information including details of LPT collected in all local authority areas on their website at the following web link: 

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Following the recent publication of the results of Census 2016, details of the population of each local authority area in 2016 are available from the searchable database on the Central Statistics Office (CSO) website at the following web link: www.cso.ie/en/census.

Local retention of LPT began in 2015. Currently, 80% of the estimated LPT liability in each local authority area for a given year is retained in that area to fund public services, notwithstanding any local variation decisions. The remaining 20% of LPT is re-distributed to provide equalisation funding to those local authorities that have lower property tax bases, due to the variance in property values and density across the State.  These amounts and subsequent distribution of equalisation funding in 2016 are published on my Department’s website at the following web link:

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Equalisation is the process that ensures that every local authority’s LPT allocation is brought up to minimum funding level known as the LPT Baseline. The 2016 LPT baseline is linked to the General Purpose Grants allocated to local authorities from the Local Government Fund in 2014, immediately prior to the introduction of local retention. The shortfall between the 20% contribution from local authorities and the total amount required for equalisation is met by the Exchequer. In a challenging national fiscal situation, this is a significant investment by the State in local government. My Department keeps the LPT allocation mechanism under review to ensure equitable treatment for all local authorities. Matters relating to equalisation levels and allocation methods for future years will be reviewed as necessary and appropriate.