Tenants of local authority houses won’t have to pay the Local Property Tax (LPT), members of Lismore Town Council were told at their monthly meeting on Monday night.

Cllr Bernard Leddy raised the matter, asking town manager Paul Daly for an update to the enquiry he’d made about it at their December meeting. The town manager told him he’d been advised that Waterford County Council will not be passing on the charge. It’s being absorbed by them, he said.

Cllr Leddy asked how the county council was going to absorb the cost. When he didn’t get a clear answer he persisted in asking how and queried if services would be cut elsewhere to make up for it. The town manager said the council will be paying the tax to Revenue but not passing it on. He explained that money coming from the Local Government Fund and Irish Water will mean that county councils will be better off and so can absorb the cost. That’s in spite of it already being stated publicly elsewhere that Irish Water will make no money for at least the first year and will be funded until such time as it does by the Local Property Tax.

The town manager asked Cllr Leddy if he was suggesting council house tenants should pay the LPT. He countered by saying he didn’t see why others have to pay and council tenants don’t. Cllr John Heneghan said the tax was for property owners; council tenants rented and didn’t own their houses. He couldn’t see any problem with it.

The town manager also advised that, from next year, local authority rents will be set nationally under the new National Rental Scheme 2015 and tenants’ rents will be uniform throughout Ireland for the type of property they occupy.