Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014
481. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there are many outstanding moneys to be paid by those owning holiday properties and penalties are accumulating on these charges which have now been abolished; if he will refund those moneys that have been charged to persons who own holiday properties here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19233/14]
View answerI understand that the Question refers to the Non-Principal Private Residence (NPPR) Charge. The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, as amended, provides the legislative basis for the NPPR Charge. The Charge which has since been discontinued, applied in the years 2009 to 2013 to any residential property in which the owner did not reside as their normal place of residence. The self-assessed charge is set at €200 per annum and liability for it falls, in the main, on owners of rental, holiday and vacant properties. It is a matter for an owner, whether resident in Ireland or elsewhere, to determine if he or she has a liability and, if so, to declare that liability and pay the Charge and any late payment fees applicable. Under the Act, it is a function of a local authority to collect Non-Principal Private Residence Charges, and late payment fees due to it and all Charges and late payment fees imposed and payable to a local authority are under the care and management of the local authority concerned.
Approximately 360,000 properties have been registered for the Non-Principal Private Residence Charge, which has raised in excess of €409m to date over its five years of operation. Proceeds from the charge are retained by local authorities and are used for the provision of local services. It is not possible to state with any certainty the level of non-compliance with the Charge. However, I am confident that compliance levels are high as a result of data matching undertaken with other public bodies, such as the Private Residental Tenancies Board, as provided for under the Act. The amount raised by the Charge to date also indicates a high compliance rate.
Part 12 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, deals with the collection of undischarged liabilities relating to the NPPR charge. The Act provides for a period, from 2 March 2014 to 31 August 2014, during which time no new late penalties will be applied to existing liabilities. If payment is not made in full, or, if settlement terms are not agreed, by the end of that period, an additional late payment fee of €120 per liability date is applied on 1 September 2014. In addition, the entire NPPR liability is increased by a factor of 50% and frozen. It is very much in the interest of non-compliant owners to come forward to regularise their affairs and to take advantage of this once-off grace period. The NPPR charge is based on self-declaration and therefore the onus is on property owners themselves to register their property and make the payment. Local authorities will be taking a proactive approach to ensure that any outstanding liabilities are discharged in the most equitable, efficient and economically beneficial manner. All non-compliant owners should log on to www.nppr.ie, or alternatively contact their local authority and make their outstanding payments before 1 September 2014 to avoid incurring additional fees.
