Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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147. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated cost of funding local authorities in place of revenue for the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23523/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Local Property Tax (LPT) was introduced to provide a stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector. LPT is administered and collected by the Revenue Commissioners and subsequently transferred into the Local Government Fund. The funds are ultimately redistributed to local authorities in accordance with the Government’s allocation policies. Approximately €500m is collected from LPT annually. The Revenue Commissioners publish detailed information on LPT collected, broken down by local authority, on its website at the following link:

 www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/local-property-tax/index.aspx  

In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future, the LPT allocation mechanism for 2023 is changed to allow for 100% of the estimated yield to be retained locally within the local authority area where it is collected. The underlying principle of the current distribution model is that every local authority should have a minimum level of funding, known as the baseline, available to it to support the provision of local services. Baseline funding comes from LPT and is supplemented by the Exchequer where a local authority’s LPT income is less than their baseline level. In 2023, €118m of equalisation funding will be provided by the Exchequer to ensure that all local authorities continue to receive, at a minimum, an amount equivalent to their baseline of €352.9m.

My Department has confirmed LPT allocations to local authorities for 2023 amounting to €609.9m, taking account of local variation decisions. For most local authorities, this income can be used for discretionary purposes. Some local authorities are required to use a portion of their LPT allocation to replace Exchequer funding for the provision of local services. Detailed information on the LPT retention system, including equalisation funding and allocations is published by my Department on an annual basis and is available at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/ea27d-local-property-tax-allocations/

In overall terms, LPT broadens the tax base and reduces the level of central funding required by local government, freeing up resources for expenditure in other areas.  The current annual allocation to local authorities, standing at €609.9m, comprises of €118m equalisation funding from the exchequer. Without LPT income, the remainder would need to be funded by the Exchequer or other income sources.