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Tuesday, 16 Apr 2013

Written Answers Nos. 325-350

Exchequer Deficit

Questions (325)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

325. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance the reason that Exchequer debt servicing costs were €105 million lower in March compared to the profile of €1,997 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17208/13]

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Written answers

Exchequer debt interest expenditure at end-March, at €1,892 million was €105 million less than profiled in the Exchequer Borrowing Requirement (EBR) profile published by my Department on 4 March, alongside the end-February Exchequer Returns.

This difference is primarily due to a timing issue around an interest payment on a loan from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) which is expected to largely balance out this month.

Credit Unions

Questions (326, 327, 328, 329)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

326. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason he endorsed the imposition of a special manager on a credit union (details supplied) in County Kildare at a cost expected to exceed €2 million, on a financially struggling credit union. [17210/13]

View answer

Pearse Doherty

Question:

327. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason the directors, staff or stakeholders of a credit union (details supplied) in County Kildare have not been advised as to the special manager's role within the credit union. [17211/13]

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Pearse Doherty

Question:

328. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason as per the Credit Union Act 1997 the special manager and Ernst and Young has refused to hold an AGM for a credit union (details supplied) in County Kildare despite public and directors' requests and their statutory obligation to do so. [17212/13]

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Pearse Doherty

Question:

329. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the work carried out by a person (details supplied) on behalf of Ernst and Young to justify bills of more than €9,500 per week, in total over €2 million, paid for by ordinary members of a credit union. [17213/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 326 to 329, inclusive, together.

The decision to apply to the High Court for the appointment of a Special Manager is a matter for the Governor of the Central Bank, following consultation with me as Minister for Finance. On 13 January 2012, the Central Bank of Ireland secured a High Court Order for the appointment of a Special Manager to Newbridge Credit Union. Further High Court applications were made in June 2012 and January 2013 to extend the term of appointment of the Special Manager and High Court Orders were secured for a 6 month extension period on each occasion.

This action was taken to strengthen Newbridge Credit Union, protect members’ savings and ensure that Newbridge Credit Union can continue to operate effectively, providing financial services to the local community while ensuring. The Special Manager replaces the management and Board of Newbridge Credit Union and his primary role is to establish the financial position and bring forward a business plan.

The Central Bank of Ireland has informed me that they have discussed with the Special Manager the question of an AGM. The Special Manager has not refused to hold an AGM. However, as the accounts cannot be signed off without a final resolution either completed or substantially completed there would not be any basis to underpin an AGM.

The Special Manager originally had a question and answers document available in the Credit Union and wrote to all members informing them of his appointment and to advise them of his role in Newbridge Credit Union. Updates are provided on the website and he and his team also make themselves available to members.

The fees payable to the Special Manager of Newbridge Credit Union are currently subject to an on-going Court process and therefore I cannot provide any specific details at this time. However, the Deputy might note that the hourly rate of fee payable to the Special Manager was reduced from €423 to €375 following an application by the Central Bank of Ireland to the Court on 10 February 2012. The fees payable to his team were reduced on a pro-rata basis.

Exchequer Deficit

Questions (330)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

330. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the underlying general Government deficit, exclusive of supports to the banks, for each of the years from 2008 to 2012 and estimates for 2013 to 2015, in percentage terms of GDP and monetary terms for each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17226/13]

View answer

Written answers

The data requested by the Deputy relating to underlying general government deficit, covering the period 2008 to 2015, is listed in the following table.

Underlying general government deficit (€m)

Underlying general government deficit as % GDP

2008

13,160

7.4

2009

18,484

11.5

2010

16,723

10.7

2011

14,432

9.1

2012

13,305

8.2

2013

12,646

7.5

2014

8,905

5.1

2015

5,325

2.9

Source: Eurostat, DOF

General government deficit information 2008-2011 was sourced from Eurostat. Figures relating to 2012 and subsequent years were obtained from Budget 2013 receipts and expenditures of general government tables. The underlying deficit is derived using my Department’s estimates of banking recapitalisation and is consistent with the concept of underlying deficit used in the Budget 2013 document and other Department of Finance publications.

Revised figures 2009-2012 will be issued as part of the March 2013 EDP return on the 22nd April 2013 while updated projections for periods 2013-2016 will be published in the forthcoming Stability Program Update document.

Budget Timetable

Questions (331)

Olivia Mitchell

Question:

331. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the new implications of the two-pack regulations, he will indicate the date in September or October on which the draft budget will be published; if this draft budget will be debated and/or voted on by the Oireachtas; if the final budget and Finance Bill will pass through the Houses of the Oireachtas in early December 2013 and February 2014 respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17316/13]

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Written answers

Last March, both ECOFIN and the European Parliament agreed on the content of two draft regulations known as the “two-pack”. One of the key requirements under the “two-pack” which will impact on our budgetary process is that the draft budget for central government and the main parameters of the draft budgets for all the other sub-sectors of the general government must be published by the 15th of October each year. In light of this requirement, the Government has decided to bring Budget Day forward from the first week in December to on or before the 15th of October from now on. This means that Budget 2014 will be presented and published on Tuesday, the 15th of October this year. Debates following the presentation of the draft budget will be a matter for the House in the normal way.

The Government has also decided that the Finance Bill should complete its passage through the Oireachtas by the 31st of December each year. This timeline will be considerably shorter than the present requirement that it must be enacted within 120 days of the Budget. Under the new arrangements, the Finance Bill will have to be passed 65 to 70 days after the Budget.

Following the Government decision on the timing of the budget, the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform are considering the follow-on implications of moving both Budget Day and the Finance Bill forward. It is the intention of both Departments to keep all bodies that contribute to the Budget and Finance Bill processes fully informed of changes so that they can plan accordingly.

Property Taxation Collection

Questions (332, 334)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

332. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 198 of 27 March 2013, if he will confirm that his Department or the Revenue Commissioners have not prepared or received from other Departments or local authorities any estimates for the amount of local property tax that will be collected in the Dublin City Council administrative area; if his Department has estimates, if he will provide the figure projected for 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17329/13]

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Kevin Humphreys

Question:

334. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, by local authority area, a breakdown of the estimates that his Department or the Revenue Commissioners may have prepared or have possession of, of the local property tax that will be raised in each local authority in 2013 and 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17331/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 332 and 334 together.

According to Budget estimates the Local Property Tax is expected to generate an overall yield of €250 million in 2013 and €500 million in 2014. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that it is not possible to provide a breakdown of these estimates on a regional or administrative basis until Local Property Tax Returns are filed and payments made by liable persons and the results analysed. I would like to remind the Deputy that the relevant deadlines for filing Returns are 7 May for paper filers and 28 May for electronic filers.

Property Taxation Collection

Questions (333)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

333. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that Dublin City Council will retain 80% of the local property tax collected within that administrative area for 2013 and for 2014 respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17330/13]

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Written answers

Section 157 of the Finance (LPT) Act 2012 (as amended by the Finance (LPT) (Amendment) Act 2013) provides, that commencing in 2014, the Minister shall pay into the Local Government Fund an amount equivalent to the LPT (including any interest paid thereon) into the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof during that year. The allocation of funding to local authorities is properly a matter for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The Government has accepted, in principle, a policy position, to move towards 80% retention of all LPT receipts within the local authority area where the tax is raised, from next year. The remaining 20% of the LPT collected nationally will go to the Local Government Fund, which will continue to provide funding to local authorities on a needs and resources basis.

Question No. 334 answered with Question No. 332.

Property Taxation Administration

Questions (335)

Heather Humphreys

Question:

335. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance in relation to Local Property Tax if it is correct that persons with multi properties have to submit their declaration on line; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17350/13]

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Written answers

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how the tax (LPT) is to be administered and provides for a number of specific exemptions from the charge. Chapter 14 of the Revenue booklet ‘ Your guide to Local Property Tax’ sets out in detail the various property types that are exempt from LPT. From the information provided by the Deputy, the person in question does not qualify for any exemption as provided for in the Act. If the person in question is concerned about his/her ability to pay LPT in a single payment then he/she may want to consider using one of the phased payment options that spreads payment in instalments across the year. The various payment options including phased cash payments and direct debit arrangements are detailed in ‘Chapter 11’ of the Revenue booklet ‘ Your guide to Local Property Tax’. For example, LPT can be deducted at source on a phased basis from salaries or occupational pensions or from certain payments from the Departments of Social Protection and Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Revenue Commissioners advise that where deduction at source is chosen, there is no additional administration or interest charge. Payments can also be made by direct debit from current accounts in banks and other financial institutions including credit unions. Finally, liable persons can avail of phased payment facilities through third party payment service providers. This option does attract a transactional charge, which is levied by the service provider.

The Act also provides for circumstances whereby a person may opt to defer or partially defer payment of LPT where certain conditions are met. Chapter 12 of the Revenue booklet ‘ Your guide to Local Property Tax’ sets out in detail the various deferral types that are available. Revenue has also published extensive guidelines on the various types of deferrals, including examples, on its website www.revenue.ie .

The Deputy should note that deferral is not an exemption. Payment of the tax is deferred, meaning that it becomes payable later and carries an interest charge at a rate of 4% per annum on all amounts of LPT that are deferred. Any deferred amount, including interest, will be a charge on the property and will have to be paid to Revenue on the sale/transfer of the property.

Banking Sector

Questions (336)

Shane Ross

Question:

336. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 204 of 26 March 2013, if he has now had time to peruse the documentation and decided on the appropriate vote for each of the resolutions individually due for decision at the Bank of Ireland AGM on 24 April 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17368/13]

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Written answers

I can confirm for the Deputy that my Department is in the final stages of its review of the relevant documentation. As previously stated, the ultimate voting decision will be based on the assessment of the best interests of the State and to maximise the return to the taxpayer of the funds invested in the Bank.

Mortgage Schemes

Questions (337)

Michelle Mulherin

Question:

337. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that he has no plans to interfere or change the interest rates, terms and conditions of tracker mortgages held by many borrowers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17386/13]

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Written answers

Firstly, I must confirm to the Deputy that the lending institutions in Ireland, including those in which the State has a significant shareholding, are independent commercial entities. It is not appropriate for me, as Minister for Finance, to comment on or become involved in the detailed mortgage position of mortgage holders. However, the Central Bank has advised me that Banks are expected to propose long-term sustainable solutions to borrowers in arrears to assist them remain in their homes, where feasible These solutions should be suitable and tailored to each individual situation. The Bank would encourage all borrowers to engage with their lender as the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) and the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) are designed to support and facilitate the finding of an agreeable solution.

The current version of the CCMA does not allow a bank to remove a borrower in arrears off a tracker rate but the proposal is if it is to the overall advantage of the borrower, e.g. linked to some debt forgiveness, then a lender may do so. This has to be an agreed solution.

Property Taxation Exemptions

Questions (338)

Eoghan Murphy

Question:

338. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he is considering an exemption for student residences from the local property tax. [17390/13]

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Written answers

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 sets out how the tax is to be administered and provides for the collection of Local Property Tax (LPT). Student residences will be subject to LPT unless the premises qualify for an exemption or relief for any other reason. I have no plans to introduce a specific exemption for student residences.

Property Taxation Collection

Questions (339)

Eoghan Murphy

Question:

339. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the way student residences are to be valued for the local property tax. [17391/13]

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Written answers

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) defines the chargeable value of a residential property as “the price that the unencumbered fee simple of the property might be expected to fetch on a sale on the open market were the property to be sold on the valuation date in a particular year in a manner that would secure the best possible price for the property and with the benefit of any access to the property that would have existed prior to the sale.” The open market valuation applies to all types of residential property and student residences are no different. As Local Property Tax (LPT) is a self-assessed tax, the liable person for a particular property is obliged to determine the market value of the property on 1 May 2013. If there are particular characteristics of the property relating to it being a student residence that would be expected to positively or negatively affect its market value, these should be taken into account in establishing the market value of the property.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, because of the particular ownership arrangements that were put in place to facilitate investment in some of the properties that were constructed under the student accommodation tax incentive scheme, a person may not own an individual residential unit but may instead own a share in all of the residential units in a particular development. This type of ‘co-ownership’ arrangement does not have any effect on valuation for LPT purposes and each residential unit should be valued separately. However, only one person will be designated by the Revenue Commissioners to submit the LPT Return form and to pay the tax.

In cases where the student residences are owned by a college or other educational institution, it is the college that is responsible for valuing the residences and paying the LPT. Again, this has no effect on valuation.

Tax Forms

Questions (340)

Seán Fleming

Question:

340. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance when a P21 tax form will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17411/13]

View answer

Written answers

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a P21 issued to the named individual on 9th April 2013 following receipt of an outstanding tax return on 8th April 2013.

Question No. 341 answered with Question No. 307.

NAMA Portfolio

Questions (342)

Finian McGrath

Question:

342. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) owns the Killester British Legion Hall in Dublin 5 or is this property under the National Assets Management Agency. [17465/13]

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Written answers

NAMA is prohibited under Sections 99 and 202 of the NAMA Act from disclosing confidential information, which is specifically defined to include information relating to its debtors and details of their properties. Accordingly, the provision of the information sought by the Deputy would be in contravention of the NAMA Act. I would like to remind the Deputy that questions on individual properties can be sent directly to NAMA, which can be contacted on oir@nama.ie, or at 01 665 0000.

Mortgage Arrears Proposals

Questions (343)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

343. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of submissions, and names of individual groups who made submissions to the Central Bank during its consultation on the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, the deadline of which was 10 April 2013. [17466/13]

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Written answers

The Central Bank has advised me that they have now concluded a four week public consultation on the review of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). Approximately 230 submissions from consumers, industry, representative bodies and other stakeholders have been received. The Central Bank will now begin a process to review and analyse all submissions and it is anticipated that the revised CCMA will be published, together with all submissions received by 31 May 2013.

Tax Compliance

Questions (344)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

344. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance in view of the financial discrepancies noted in the Irish Medical Organisation, if he has examined the practice of presidents, honorary non-pay positions, of unions that were in receipt of stipends not declaring this in their accounts and therefore not paying tax to the Revenue Commissioners; his plans to uncover tax and accounting discrepancies in these non-pay positions since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17492/13]

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Written answers

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that all stipends paid to presidents and honorary positions of unions are taxable in full under the PAYE and USC systems and that every union has a statutory obligation to account for the PAYE, PRSI and USC on all such payments. I am further informed by the Revenue Commissioners that all unions are subject to audit procedures similar to the procedures that apply to any enterprise or business and that, where appropriate, interest and penalties, including publication, are applied.

Property Taxation Exemptions

Questions (345)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

345. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will introduce an incentive package to enable ghost estates to be finished by providing tax exemptions to buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17493/13]

View answer

Written answers

I have no plans to introduce such a package as described by the Deputy. I would point out that the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, provides for an exemption from the Local Property Tax for the first valuation period, up to the end of 2016, for new and previously unused properties that are purchased from a builder or developer between 1 January 2013 and 31 October 2016.

I would note also that Budget and Finance Act 2012 introduced a relief from CGT on the disposal of certain property to restore some confidence and to renew activity in the construction, development and property sectors. The property is required to be bought during the “incentive period” from 7 December 2011 to 31 December 2013 and must be held for seven years. The relief applies to all property, whether residential or non-residential.

The relief does not apply if a property is sold within seven years of its acquisition. If it is sold more than seven years after acquisition and a gain is made on the sale, relief will be given for the initial seven year holding period. For example, if the property was bought in January 2012 and sold in January 2022, the property would have been held for ten years, so seven tenths of any gain will be relieved from CGT and three tenths is taxable.

Property Taxation Collection

Questions (346, 347, 348, 349, 350)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

346. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details on the respective weighting applied to each of the property characteristic variables listed in table 2 of page 11 of the Revenue Commissioner's Property Valuation - Developing, Assessing and Deploying a Valuation Model for Local Property Tax. [17494/13]

View answer

Róisín Shortall

Question:

347. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the way in which data on local crime rates was used in the statistical model developed by the Revenue Commissioners to produce estimates of property valuations; and the weighting afforded to this dataset. [17495/13]

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Róisín Shortall

Question:

348. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the specific house type data the terraced, semi-detached and so on available to the Revenue Commissioners through the geo-directory for the purposes of preparing a property valuation model; and if information on categories such as end of terrace and corner house and corner house with site is available to and used by the Revenue Commissioners in the statistical model developed by them to produce estimates of property valuations. [17496/13]

View answer

Róisín Shortall

Question:

349. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify which small area the property at (details supplied) was included in for the purposes of determining house valuation. [17497/13]

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Róisín Shortall

Question:

350. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether the information sources available to the public in respect of the valuation of their property for the purposes of the local property tax are adequate; and the action he proposes to take to improve the property valuation guidance provided by the Revenue Commissioners to the public. [17498/13]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 346 to 350, inclusive, together.

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 sets out how the tax is to be administered and how a residential property is to be valued for Local Property Tax (LPT) purposes.

LPT is a self-assessed tax and as I have advised the House on many occasions, it is a matter for the property owner in the first instance, to calculate the tax due based on his or her assessment of the market value of the property. For the purposes of LPT, values for properties under €1 million are organised into valuation bands, with a range of €50,000 in each band, so owners will not be required to provide a precise value for their property.

The Revenue Commissioners have prepared valuation guidance which, together with the owner’s own knowledge of a property, will assist him or her in assessing its value. This guidance should be used together with other sources of information including the Property Services Regulatory Authority’s property price register, property sections of newspapers, information from local estate agents and property websites. When using Revenue’s valuation guidance, property owners should consider the specifics of their own property and if they feel that the guidance is not indicating a reasonable valuation, they should make their own assessment.

In the absence of a national residential property valuation system, the valuation guidance developed by Revenue is designed to help property owners in self-assessing the market value of their property by giving them average, indicative values for their area. The guidance is based on sales in the last 3 years and provides a benchmark to help people consider whether their property is more or less valuable than the average in an area. This guidance will be helpful in the majority of cases but there are always properties in an area that differ from the average.

The valuation guidance explicitly states: “This service provides a guide to average market values of properties in a given locality and offers an indicative valuation band for properties depending on type, age and location. It does not provide market values for individual properties.”

Revenue has made the guidance as simple as possible – users need only know their property’s type, age and location. The Revenue valuation guidance website combines two aspects – a simple point and click option to get an average valuation for an area (electoral district) and an interactive map showing relative valuations across electoral districts.

I note the Deputy’s statement last week on the Revenue guidance and I will take this opportunity to explain briefly how property owners should use the guidance. To take, for example, the owner of a semi-detached property, the Revenue guidance may show the average valuation band for this property type in the location is between €350,000 and €400,000. If an owner of a 2 bedroom semi-detached property knows that the majority of semi-detached houses in their area have 3 bedrooms then that owner can reasonably expect the Revenue guidance to reflect the value of a 3-bed. This could offer a basis to adjust the valuation of their property downwards from the guidance average. In another example, in the case that the Deputy noted where four houses sold on a road over the last year are valued on the property price register between €100,000 and €200,000. If all the houses are similar, then a property owner will likely select the most recent sale as the best guide to the value of their property. If the four properties are different, then the owner should select the one that most resembles their house.

Again, it is important reiterate that the Revenue guidance does not claim to value every house. Using the guidance requires a property owner to make an assessment based on their knowledge of their house, the neighbourhood, the house types and any factors they feel are relevant, as well as combining the Revenue guidance with property price register and any other appropriate sources of information available to them.

The Deputy also makes a reference in her statement to the Revenue Estimate. There has been much commentary about this figure, some of which has not been particularly helpful for property owners who are trying to meet their obligations. As I have stated in the House previously, the Revenue Estimate is not based on a valuation of each owner’s individual property nor should it be regarded as an accurate calculation of the amount of LPT that they should pay. This is the amount of LPT that will be pursued by Revenue, if the liable person fails to complete and submit their LPT Return. It can be simply displaced by the property owner submitting their own valuation of their residential property and indicating their payment preference.

I am also advised that underlying their simple valuation guidance system, a detailed economic model has been developed by Revenue. The model used is a hedonic econometric regression model. This approach disaggregates the value of a property into constituent parts to assess the contribution of different characteristics and provides a weighting for each.

Information on property characteristics is taken from a range of sources:

Geo-Directory: a list of all properties in Ireland, their type and location;

Spatially derived data that indicate relative distances of all residential properties from a series of key amenities and services;

Geographically linked data from sources, such as the Central Statistics Office 2011 Census results at small area level and the HP Pobal Deprivation Index.

In relation to the Deputy’s question on crime statistics, it should be noted that none of the information sources used by Revenue include data on criminal activity.

Regarding property types, I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that Geo-Directory includes detached, semi-detached, bungalow and terraced properties. Revenue has used information on postal delivery points (also contained in Geo-Directory) to extrapolate where above property types are subdivided into flats or apartments. Geo-Directory does not distinguish corner or end terrace properties, Revenue has focused on data available for all properties in the State. As no nationwide database exists with information on corner or end terrace properties, these are not included in Revenue guidance.

Details on the development of the economic model used by Revenue are included in a paper published by Revenue on their website in early March, which you reference in one of your questions. This paper includes all the standard outcome measures used when reporting on regression models of property values. The regression coefficients estimated for each property characteristic (the weightings) are not included. There are hundreds of estimated coefficients and their related statistical attributes across the various regression models produced. The weightings as estimated are dependent on the sample of valuations used in the model. Because of a number of technical issues in the construction of the economic valuation model, it is not feasible to present the individual weightings in a meaningful way.

Regarding the specific case raised by the Deputy, I am advised that Revenue is not providing guidance at the level of small area. Instead Revenue’s guidance uses electoral districts. These are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the State. The CSO has developed more granular areas, known as small areas. Revenue used some CSO small area data from Census 2011 in estimating our valuation guidance and therefore the guidance takes into account small area variation to a degree. However, Revenue has not provided average valuation bands by small area. The main reason for this relates to data availability. Moving down to small area level in some cases would reduce the number of sales, which is used to generate the average valuation guidance, per small area to very low numbers. It is possible that some small areas would have no sales. From a statistical perspective, the use of limited numbers of valuations to generate averages would risk producing results that are not sufficiently robust or reliable. For the Deputy’s information, the specific property in question is located in small area id number 268060012 according to Geo-Directory records. I am informed that Geo-Directory and Central Statistics Office (CSO) classifications do not provide any additional identification description for small areas beyond the small area id number.

The Revenue guidance follows methods similar to those used by tax administrations in other countries and meets internationally accepted standards for this type of work. In addition, it compares favourably to research in Ireland, including work by researchers in the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Other valuation guidance and models in Ireland, for example those produced by some property or real estate listings websites, also use similar methods to providing average valuations.

I am advised that the online guidance is being used extensively by the public. Up to 11 April 2013, in excess of 847,000 “hits” were recorded on the site and over 181,000 users either opened the hard copy of the valuation guidance from the Revenue website or saved it to their own computer. I would also like to point out, regarding guidance for those who do not use the internet, that the Revenue Commissioners have prepared paper copies of the indicative valuation band for each property type in every electoral district in the country. These are available from Revenue public offices, the major Citizens’ Information Centre offices and were made available to members of the House at briefing sessions organised for them a few weeks ago.

In the context of a self assessed tax, I am completely satisfied that Revenue’s online valuation guidance is fit for purpose and performs at least equally well, if not better, than other sources of valuation guidance that are available. I am confident that the valuation guidance will be useful for the majority of property owners in assisting them to value their homes.

I am also satisfied that Revenue’s general guidance on the various sources available to assist in property valuation enables property owners to make an honest and reasonable assessment of the appropriate valuation band for their residential property. The level of public debate on property valuation suggests that most people are engaging with the Local Property Tax, have a good general sense of the value of their property, are carrying out research to enable them to do their self-assessed return, and I welcome that.

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