They are all in favour but the mask always slips with Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is in favour of more houses being built when its members are in the House, but are against them being built in any local community when they walk out of here.

Look at the charges that have been made here this evening. They have all been in favour of the big lie that motivates Sinn Féin, which is that it is the only party that represents the ordinary worker and the care worker. This is a Government in which my party represents the care worker, the person looking for a home to buy, the person whose rent is too high-----

We will do that work-----

As I said, the mask will always slip with Sinn Féin. We will do that work. We will do that hard work in honesty and by putting forward policies that can make a difference to the lives of people. There are few in this House who represent those qualities more than Simon Coveney.

I wish everybody good morning. I thank Senators for the amendments that have been tabled and for the facilitating and scrutiny of this legislation. I will begin my comments on this amendment by absolutely identifying and appreciating the anxiety, huge stress and damage that has been caused to families and homeowners, which in turn has been created by the damage that has been done to their homes by the material that was used to build them. It has caused such harm to so many. The Government at the moment is reviewing…

I thank the Senators for their contributions. I will take a step back to look at what we are doing with local property tax. The evidence from other countries that have had property tax regimes in place for much longer than we have is that the difficult moment for those regimes happen at two points in time. The first one is when the local property tax is implemented for the first time and the second one is when the first revaluation happens. In many countries it is done on the basis of self-assessment. If a local pr…

Senator Higgins's contribution regarding a potential vacant homes tax highlighted an open issue which demonstrates the need for the collection of further information in this respect. It is a very reasonable and understandable position to adopt. She said she was in favour of such a vacant homes tax, with certain caveats, and that is a very understandable and legitimate position to take. My expectation is that once we get into a debate on what those caveats are, it will pose a question regarding the utility of the ta…

I am not concerned at what those trade-offs could be. I am just saying that we could get to a point where there are trade-offs. That is all. While it has not happened in the debate so far, although it may have happened on Second Stage, normally, when we are having discussions about local property tax, the case is made for people who should be exempted from local property tax, as opposed to making the case for all those who are paying for it. I am just indicating that it is possible that that could happen if the Gov…

I will be equally brief by saying to the Senator that it is very likely that we will have engagement on this matter well before December 2022.

There are three points on this. It is worthwhile considering the dimension of this debate, which is that individuals or companies may own large groups of homes and properties but this is because they have built them. If they did not own them these properties would not be built. If supply is part of how we respond to the great challenges we have in housing, it poses the issue that we may find the reason companies, funds or individuals own a larger group of properties is exactly because they built them with a view to…

That is not what I heard but I am sure that is what the Senator did say so I thank her for clarifying that. Even at that point, Senator Higgins is right. Understanding patterns of ownership is very valuable in the debate on public policy. The data already exist. For this reason, I ask that the Senator withdraws the amendments.

I never disputed the fact there are individuals or firms that own multiple properties. I am simply making the point that more data are available than the amendment might suggest. I agree with Senator Higgins that patterns of ownership are a very influential dynamic in understanding what happens in the property sector. She is definitely correct with regard to this.

I move: THAT provision be made to amend the provisions for the charging of taxes in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 in relation to the definition of ‘residential property’; in relation to the tax exemption for certain unsold trading stock of builders; in relation to the tax exemption for ‘first-time buyers’; in relation to the tax exemption for the purchase of properties constituting the unsold trading stock of builders; in relation to the tax exemption for properties situated in unfinished housing estate…

I want to deal with the substance of the amendment before I deal with some of the additional points that were made. The Bill provides for the amendment of the definition of "residential property" in two ways. First, the part of the adjoining land to be valued with the House where that land exceeds 1 acre will be specified to be that part that is most suitable for occupation and enjoyment with the House. Second, the reference to "acre" is being changed to "hectare". There seems to be some misunderstanding of this se…

I thank the Deputy and I will deal with his points. I accept that for many people, a bill of €100 is a lot, and that is why we have put in place the changes that the Deputy acknowledged in the Bill. The Deputy spoke about the future of this tax and the people of his own county of Donegal. On one hand he said he was concerned about the future revenue that the people of Donegal, whom he represents, will get from this tax, but he has also indicated he wants to abolish the tax. I put it to the Deputy there is an incons…

I am not sure what I said to the Deputy that made him think in any way that I was not making a serious contribution or implying that he does not have some answers to the questions I raise, as I know he does. The net point is still that if this tax was abolished, there would be a decrease in the revenue made available for the Department or local authorities. If this tax was abolished, we would not see the €640 million that would be raised. I acknowledge that for some people there will be a higher tax bill and for ma…

I thank the Deputies for raising a matter that the Government knows is very sensitive because of the anxiety about harm and damage that has been caused not just to homes but to the families who live in them and who have experienced such difficulty over a number of years. It is in recognition of this that the Government put in place a scheme to try to provide support to families affected by the problem. When the scheme launched, some of the Deputies who spoke this evening welcomed it. I also understand that there ar…

I do not want this process to be equated with questions of trust. We understand the challenges being faced by homeowners. I do not want it to be inferred in any way that by not accepting this amendment, we have in any way issues with trust with regard to the very serious matters being raised. There are reasons that I have advanced for why this exemption is structured as it is. It is based on how we have dealt with similar issues elsewhere. As I said, there is a process under way to try to consider this that is due …

I move: "That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and Capital Gains) (Federal Republic of Germany) Order 2021, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 7th July, 2021.”