Sinn Fein: Extend deadline for property tax views

The deadline for submissions from the public over a reduction in the Local Property Tax (LPT) must be extended say some Cork county councillors.

The ten Sinn Féin councillors on the local authority maintain that the council didn’t do enough to highlight that the public had a right to make submissions on the issue.

By the time the deadline was reached the council, which has autonomy to lower the LPT by 15%, had only received 57 submissions.

It’s understood that the majority of these submissions were in favour of a reduction.

Sinn Féin leader on the council, Cllr Des O’Grady, is to urge councillors in other parties to support a motion for the council to write to the Department of the Environment to seek an additional two weeks consultation.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that the public were unaware of this public consultation,” he said.

The Irish Examiner highlighted the fact that 24 hours before the deadline there were just 37 observations submitted to the council.

This news prompted a further 20 to add their names.

The final small figure has taken many councillors by surprise, especially as Ireland’s largest county has nearly 150,000 households and when the LPT was first introduced there was considerable public resentment at it.

Councillors will meet with management later this month to discuss any implications there may be for reducing the LPT, some of the revenue from which will be used to prop up its services.

While a 15% reduction may not mean a big saving for some, it will be for others.

Householders whose property is valued at €100,000 and under have to pay €90 in tax per annum.

A house valued between €350,000 and €400,000 has an annual tax rate of €675, while owners whose properties are worth between €950,000 and €1m pay €1,755.

“It is typical of the type of public consultation we see so often, it was a box ticking exercise, and consequently, many thousands of people who would have liked to have had a say on this matter didn’t realise they could. For that reason I think the period should be extended by two weeks to allow others to make submissions. People deserve to have their say,” Mr O’Grady said.

He said his party really wanted to see the tax abolished altogether, but in the meantime had sought it be reduced by the maximum 15%, which legislation allows.

Before councillors broke for the summer holiday a vote which was accepted in principle that they would seek the 15% reduction.