Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 April 2015
33. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the discussions or contacts his officials have had with the Department of Finance in 2015, in relation to overcoming the difficulties of the criteria outlined in the statutory instrument to enable homeowners with significant damage as a result of pyrite to avail of their legitimate local property tax exemption. [15676/15]
View answerSection 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended ) provides for a temporary exemption of at least three consecutive years from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT) for residential properties that have been certified as having “significant pyritic damage”. The requirements needed to demonstrate “significant pyritic damage” are set out in the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Pyrite Exemption) Regulations 2013 and are consistent with the recommendation set out in the Report of the Pyrite Panel (July 2012) which recommended that an exemption from the LPT should be provided for dwellings where damage from pyritic heave has been proven by testing.
Nevertheless, having regard to the costs associated with testing, my Department is engaging with the Department of Finance in order to explore possible alternatives to the requirement for testing. In this context, I understand that my colleague, the Minister for Finance, has initiated a review of the operation of the LPT. I understand that the review will primarily have regard to recent residential property price developments, the overall yield from LPT and the desirability of achieving relative stability in LPT payments. The review will also address a number of issues which have arisen in relation to the efficient and effective administration of the LPT, among which is likely to be the matter of the operation of the pyrite exemption provisions. Further discussions in this matter will take place in due course between my Department and the Department of Finance.
