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The Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
Dublin city councillors set to increase property tax for first time
DUBLIN CITY COUNCILLORS are set to vote next week to stop applying a 15% discount on property tax for the first time in more than 10 years. The change, for 2026, comes at the same time that the government is also applying increases to property tax to reflect the significant rise in house prices, although tax bands have been tweaked to moderate the impact. It's understood councillors' decision will cost less than €65 per year for homeowners whose houses are worth up to €525,000, with exact costs on a sliding scale based on the value of the property. For a €450,000 house, for example, the annual charge will be €428 in total. For the owners of the capital's most expensive houses, councillors' decision will cost more, with homes worth between €1m and €2m likely to pay €150-460 more than they would have with the discount. A house worth €1.2m must pay €1,094 in property tax in total each year from 2026 onwards. Property tax was introduced in 2013 at the behest of the Troika , with a view to broadening the tax base and funding local authorities without taxing employment. Dublin City Council management has long argued that the vast majority of Dublin homeowners would not be hit with substantial additional charges if councillors agreed to reduce the discount applied, while the city would benefit. The council's ruling group, comprising Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party, agreed after last year's local elections to apply the baseline rate with no discount this year for the first time. The decision, which will be taken at a meeting on 18 July, is expected to bring in more than €15m in extra funding for the city. It's understood councillors are considering targeting the additional revenue at improving the council's housing stock, as well as improvements to footpaths, although no final decisions have been taken yet. Advertisement Labour and the Green Party, which pushed for the discount to be scrapped, argue that property tax is progressive and will provide crucial funding for improving the city. Councillors Feljin Jose of the Green Party and Darragh Moriarty of Labour characterised property tax as the closest thing Ireland has to a wealth tax, given most of the country's wealth is held in property. 'A lot of our [council] housing stock is very bad, and we need to maintain and repair and urgently increase the energy efficiency of those buildings,' said Jose of the Green Party. Darragh Moriarty of Labour said: 'In the vast majority of instances, these are very modest property taxes, by European comparisons. The 15% will be modest as well.' He noted that the decision would mean an extra €60m could be invested in improving the city over the lifetime of the council. Councillor Deirdre Heney of Fianna Fáil said she hoped additional funding would be allocated to footpath repairs and tree maintenance, issues that are raised with her frequently by residents, as well as to building more playgrounds. Property tax for 2026 is owed on 1 November. The government changed property tax bands earlier this year to moderate the increase in the amount of tax payable as a result of increasing house prices. A possible left-leaning ruling coalition on Dublin City council last year including Sinn Féin fell apart over the question of property tax . Sinn Féin wanted to continue to apply the 15% property tax discount. Separately, the government said last week that this year it will allow Dublin city, which takes in by far the most property tax of any council, to keep an additional €19m of the revenue it raises this year. The government wants this extra funding spent on implementing the recommendations of its Dublin city taskforce. Each year, a proportion of council tax from larger local authorities is redistributed to those with a lower property tax base. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Marriage Equality event changes venue amid fears of far-right protest
Around seventy people have registered to attend the Labour Party event which was due to take place at The Hens Teeth venue in Dublin 8 this evening. But they have changed to a secret venue after social media videos called for a demonstration at the event against 'leftie nutjobs' and 'D4 heads'. It's understood the management of The Hens Teeth raised concerns around the safety of staff, prompting the last-minute change of venue. There have been heightened tensions in the area in recent weeks over a proposal to expand an international Protection centre at Basin Lane. The Department of Justice said on Friday that the expansion would not go ahead. Around twenty International Protection applicants are already housed there. A call went out on the ThisIsDublin Instagram page which promotes the activities of the Dublin 8 Says No Group – who opposed the expansion and have held pickets at the IPAS centre at Basin Lane which is situated between the Guinness Storehouse and the new National Children's Hospital. They said the demonstration was particularly against the Labour Party Councillor, Darragh Moriarty, who had previously raised concerns around incidents of 'aggression and intimidation' as well as an alleged racial slur at a protest at the IPAS centre. Concerns have also been raised by the parents of children at a nearby school. Gardaí confirmed they attended the scene of a 'public gathering' on May 12, but said no offences were disclosed. Posting a video about tonight's demonstration on the This is Dublin Instagram page said: 'These leftie nutjobs have put out stories asking folks from D4 to come out and protest against the good folk of D8. There are Dublin 4 heads coming to Dublin 8 to protest against us to tell us that we don't have the right to protest against IPAS centres in Dublin 8, when only a couple weeks ago the D4 heads and the like of them, the higher class as they would put it, felt like it was winning the lotto when the IPAS centre got refused in their neighbourhood.' The video said 'all these engineers and doctors' are 'coming into our neighbourhood to protest and call us racist'. In a message to Labour Party members this evening, its General Secretary, Billy Sparkes, said: 'Unfortunately due to threats of a far-right protest at the Labour Party Marriage Equality event in Dublin 8 this evening, the venue has had to pull out from hosting the event. 'We completely understand their concerns and the safety of staff must be paramount. He said: 'We must stand strong. The far right cannot stop us from coming together to celebrate ten years of marriage equality and they cannot stop su asking 'what's next for LGBTQ+ rights. The events of the last few days have only served to emphasise the importance of that question.'
