Doherty welcomes inclusion of pyrite property tax waiver in Finance Bill

Fine Gael Meath East TD, Regina Doherty, has today (Wednesday) welcomed the inclusion in the Finance Bill of a waiver for the Local Property Tax for pyrite homes. Deputy Doherty previously raised concerns with the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD, on the matter.

“This waiver will come as a welcome relief to pyrite homeowners, who have suffered unduly in recent years. It would be unjust to force these homeowners to pay a property tax on properties that are essentially worthless.

“When the Finance Bill was published in December, it did not contain any specific reference to pyrite homes. I expressed concerns and the time, and received assurances from Minister Noonan. I am very glad to have this concerns officially addressed with the publication of the Finance Bill today, which states that a waiver of at least three years will apply.

“This doesn’t solve the problems facing people living in homes affected by pyrite, but it will come as a relief that they won’t have to pay a property tax when their houses are still in need of significant repairs. In some cases, homes are uninhabitable. I would like to commend Minister Noonan and the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan TD, for taking a pragmatic approach to this matter.

“We still need further progress for pyrite homeowners. I have stated previously that action has not been as swift as I would like on the testing and categorisation of homes, which must be carried out before remediation works can be carried out. Minister Hogan has taken a number of steps to ensure the responsible stakeholders work with homeowners to provide satisfactory long term solutions for homeowners.

“I will continue to represent the concerns and plight facing pyrite homeowners at a national level, as we move the resolution process forward.”

ENDS