Dublin City councillors agree to increase local property tax for the first time
The move forms part of the governing agreement between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Labour Party, which will last until the next local elections in 2029.Under the legislation governing the LPT, local authority members may choose to reduce the rate charged to householders by a maximum of 15pc.A motion from those parties was passed by the chamber shortly after a fiery debate, marking the first time the baseline rate has been applied in Dublin city since the tax was introduced in 2013.It comes after a report was issued to elected members from the council chief executive Richard Shakespeare, recommending a move to the baseline rate to improve service and infrastructural delivery in the city.During the debate beforehand, councillors clashed over the tax rise, with Sinn Féin, People Before Profit and several independent members saying the increased tax would not fix Dublin’s issues and would hit everyday people in their pockets."It’s not even a property tax. We need to dispel that myth,” said Sinn Féin’s Daithí Doolan.“It is a charge on people's homes, and those with living in Dublin are unfairly punished by an extremely high price of housing in the capital, and this is used as a benchmark to measure the local property tax.”He said that because the charge is not tied to income and the “prince pays the same as the pauper”, there was “no way” the tax was a progressive one.Green Party member Janet Horner said: “Everyone who votes this down tonight, you can argue the theories of it all you want, but what you are voting down in this motion tonight is investing €20m into doing up the worst [housing] conditions. Over the next four years, we will be investing €20m into addressing some of the worst housing conditions in this city."When you knock on the doors of the flats, and when people are showing you mould and damp conditions, and when they’re showing you single-glazed windows, and they’re showing you doors that do not function, you will have to be the ones that say: yeah, I had the opportunity to actually vote and do something on that and I chose not to.”Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil members are backing the baseline rate."This money isn’t going to fix all our problems, but certainly it will help,” said Fine Gael Lord Mayor Ray McAdam."I believe this decision is entirely consistent with Fine Gael values, ensuring that we have the resources to clean up our city, improve services and deliver for Dubliners,” he added.Social Democrats members also spoke in favour of moving to the baseline rate, with councillor Cat O’Driscoll saying she was “delighted” Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael changed their longstanding position.Ms O’Driscoll also said exemptions from the tax for those whose main source of income is social welfare should be considered.The increase in LPT will raise an additional €16.4m next year, of which €5.6m will be ring-fenced for housing maintenance in council-owned complexes.Around €3m will be spent on additional road, footpath and carriageway maintenance, with another €3m devoted to a revolving fund which would target urban regeneration and vacant properties.Repayment of borrowing for infrastructural projects will be allocated a further €2m, while DCC will get an additional discretionary spend of €1m from the fund.A further €1m will be spent on new apprentices, with the same figure going towards additional zebra crossings.The council’s governing group said the increase will fund €65m worth of infrastructural improvements for the capital over the next four years.Fingal and South Dublin County Councils both recently voted to reduce their discount from 7.5pc to 5pc, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown voted to keep its 15pc reduction.Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
