Donegal County Councillors have voted to retain the Local Property Tax at a 15% increase in 2025.
A marathon debate took place in Lifford today as councillors considered the impact of the rate on the council’s budget.
The Local Property Tax is worth €1.4 million in revenue for Donegal County Council’s budget each year. It was first varied in Donegal in 2020 and has been kept at the +15% rate each year since.
Today’s vote means that householders will pay the same rate as they have since 2020.
There are just over 73,000 properties liable to LPT in the county, with exemptions for social housing tenants and properties eligible for the defective concrete blocks scheme.
Four out of five households are in the lowest band and face an annual charge of €90. The 15% increase agreed today equates to an additional €13.50 per year for those homeowners, i.e. over €1 per month.
Addressing elected members, Richard Gibson, Director Of Finance at Donegal County Council outlined that 98% of households are on the first three bands, which are based on the valuation of properties.
Under the +15% rate, houses valued between €0 and €200,000 have a payable tax of €103.50 (€90 baseline plus the €13.50 increase), those valued between €200,001 and €262,500 pay €258.75 and houses valued between €262,501 and €350,000 have a payable tax of €365.25.
A public consultation process carried out by Donegal County Council on the LPT during July/August 2024 received 13 submissions. Respondents expressed concerns about the fairness and impact of the current rate for urban and rural areas, while others advocated for changes or abolition due to the cost of living crisis.
The money collected under the Local Property Tax contributes towards the cost of providing a range of important local Council services including libraries, public lighting, leisure centres, road maintenance, housing services, theatres, fire services, dealing with illegal dumping and littering, community initiatives, beach management, and tourism development initiatives, among many others.
Three votes were held on the resolution today.
The first proposal by Independent Cllr Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig sought to lower the tax -15% below the baseline. This vote fell with 2 for, 17 against and 12 abstentions.
A second vote to keep the tax at the baseline, proposed by Independent Cllr Michael McBride, gathered 13 for, 17 against, and 2 abstentions.
The third and final decisive vote, to retain the 15% increase, was put forward by Fine Gael Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh. This received 17 votes in favour, 14 against, and 3 abstentions.
