*The vote was held at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council.
CLARE’S local property tax will remain at the highest rate after the majority of elected representatives agreed to retain it at fifteen percent above the standard rate for the next five years.
Years gone by have seen heated debates when it comes to the local property tax within the Chamber of Clare County Council but there wasn’t a puff of wind at Monday’s meeting with 24 of the 28 councillors voting to retain the highest rate.
Already in place for five years, the increased rate will now be in situ for the entire Council term, up until 2029 but this vote was the first time that the rate will cover a five year block whereas when it was voted on last in September 2022 it was so it would remain for 2023 and 2024.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) reminded colleagues that they had been “briefed extensively on this” when the item appeared on the agenda. Chief Executive of the Council, Pat Dowling in correspondence to colleagues prior to the vote stated that the higher charge was worth €1.5m to the Council’s budget. He pointed out that returning to the standard rate would result in a saving of €13.50 per annum for 51.6 percent of households and €33.75 for another 27 percent.
An attempt by the county’s Sinn Féin councillors to return to “the basic rate of local property tax” failed to receive any backing from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or Independent councillors who all voted to back the wishes of local authority management to stick with the highest rate. The proposal to revert to the basic rate was made by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) and seconded by Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF).
Their request came after Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) and Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) proposed and seconded the call from management to stick with the higher rate and with a counter-proposal tabled, a vote was called for. This vote saw a comprehensive 24 elected members seek to retain the higher rate, the Sinn Féin duo voted against while both Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) and Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) who were attending the meeting online were not present when the vote was called.
In a statement issued following the meeting, the Council stated that the decision will secure €58m in funding for the operational needs of the local authority. “Maintaining the Local Property Tax at the same rate for the next five years not only brings certainty for the Council and our budget process, but also gives certainty to Clare property owners at a time of significant economic change and rising costs,” Dowling said.
Director of Finance and Support Services, Noeleen Fitzgerald commented, “Inflation in recent years has reached approximately 19%, while Local Property Tax has remained static. More than half of the property owners in Clare are in the lower band of the Local Property Tax, paying €103.50 per annum at the current rate – a rate that has been in place since 2020. Another 27% of Clare property owners pay €259 annually in property tax”.
Cllr O’Callaghan said, “The €58 million raised through the local property tax in Clare will support significant community grant schemes, library services, lifeguards on our beaches and other essential services for the county and its citizens”.
Every property is liable for local property tax, if it is a residential property, the tax is administered by Revenue.
Vote: to keep higher level of local property tax in Clare
For: Cllr Pat Daly (FF), Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), Cllr Antoinette Baker Bashua (FF), Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Joe Cooney (FG), Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Pat Burke (FG), Cllr David Griffin (FF), Cllr Rachel Hartigan (FF), Cllr John Crowe (FG), Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF), Cllr Michael Begley (IND), Cllr Bill Slattery (FG), Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Shane Talty (FF), Cllr Joe Killeen (FF), Cllr Dinny Gould (IND), Cllr Rita McInerney (FF), Cllr Ian Lynch (IND), Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), Cllr Michael Shannon (FF)
Against: Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF), Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF)
Absent: Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF), Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG)
