Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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166. To ask the Minister for Finance the breakdown of local property tax, LPT, which is deferred on the basis of inability to pay by local authority; the total income from interest in 2015, 2016 and 2017 that arises from deferred LPT; the rate of interest applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39368/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Part 12 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a deferral or partial deferral (50%) of LPT where certain specified circumstances exist. These circumstances include ‘Income Level’, ‘Hardship’, ‘Personal Insolvency’ and ‘Personal Representative of a Deceased Person’.

Once granted, a deferral normally remains in place for the duration of the ‘Valuation Period’, which is currently 1 May 2013 to 31 October 2019. Where a deferral is in place, the outstanding liability automatically attaches as a charge on the property and must be paid before a sale or transfer can be completed. Interest is also charged on the deferred amount at a rate of 4% per annum.

There are currently 62,500 properties with LPT deferrals in place, most of which are in respect of the entire ‘Valuation Period’ (2013-2019). The following table sets out the value of the deferrals broken down by Local Authority. The total accumulated interest to date is €5m of which €2.6m relates to the years specified by the Deputy (2015, 2016 and 2017).