Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2013
152. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will list the estates in County Cavan that were exempt from payment of the household charge; if any of these estates are now liable for payment of the property tax; the reason for such exemptions being removed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19688/13]
View answerAn exemption from the local property tax applies to developments listed in the schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013. The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012. The Survey was carried out over the course of summer 2012 by my Department in conjunction with local authorities and the Housing Agency. The categorisation methodology for the survey was different to that which was used in 2011 and which provided the basis for the waiver from the household charge. That earlier categorisation related largely to the level of on-site activity at the time the 2011 survey was carried out and had less to do with the physical character of a development. The 2012 survey was based purely and objectively on the actual state of completion of a development. Only developments that were deemed by local authorities to be in a “seriously problematic condition”, regardless of whether a developer was on or off site, were included. For purposes of preparing the final list of developments to which the exemption from the local property tax would apply local authorities were asked by my Department to confirm or update the then existing list as appropriate.
The list of estates exempted from payment of the household charge, as well as the list of estates which are entitled to a waiver from the local property tax, are both available on my Department’s website, www.environ.ie.
