Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 October 2012
140. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will appoint valuation officers to each local authority; if he is taking action to address delays in valuations and ultimately in the collection of rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45144/12]
View answerThe Commissioner of Valuation is independent in the exercise of his duties under the Valuation Act 2001 and the making of valuations for rating is his sole prerogative and local authorities have no functions in this regard.
The appointment of officers to carry out the valuation of properties is the function of the Commissioner which he exercises under his powers of delegation set out in section 11 of the Act. The appointment of officers to undertake work on the revaluation programme is provided for under section 19(2) and the appointment of officers to undertake the revision of the valuation lists is provided for under section 28(2). These officers are not appointed to or assigned to local authorities who have no function in the organisation of their work programme. The officers, so appointed, carry out the valuation work under the Commissioner’s direction and, for the duration of their appointments, remain within the Commissioner’s jurisdiction.
One of the key motivations for the Valuation (Amendment) Bill, which had its second stage reading in the Seanad on 11th October, 2012 is the need to speed up the revaluation programme. Towards this end, a number of initiatives are planned such as the piloting of a self-assessment scheme of valuation in one local authority area, which if it proves successful could be extended to other areas. There is also provision in the Bill to allow for the assessment of valuations by contract valuers under an external service delivery scheme which is also to be initiated by a pilot project and which if successful, can be further employed as the Commissioner decides.
