Replacement for LPT to be considered, hydro power plans for Tipperary, site for 400 homes for €23m

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Dublin Airport cannot face a third year of enforced below cost passenger charges, Basil Geoghegan, chairman of its parent company DAA, will warn politicians later today. Photograph: iStock

The Commission on Taxation and Welfare is to consider the merits of replacing the local property tax with a broader site value tax. The current LPT regime only applies to residential property but a site value tax would draw in non-residential and business premises, potentially boosting exchequer revenue. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

Eoin also reports that the third tranche of homes to be delivered under the Government's new cost-rental housing model will be unveiled by housing agency Clúid later today. The 56 properties in Leixlip, Co Kildare, will be rented to qualifying tenants at sub-market rates of €900 and €1,250 a month. Clúid said the rents are about 45 per cent below market rates.

Dublin Airport cannot face a third year of enforced below cost passenger charges, Basil Geoghegan, chairman of its parent company DAA, will warn politicians later today when he appears in front of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications. He will tell the committee Covid-19 has voided passenger charges set for Dublin by regulators in 2019. Barry O'Halloran reports.

In this week's bottom line column,Ciarán Hancock writes about how Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe revealed at an EY event in Kerry last week how he played his hand for the OECD deal as he lifted the lid on the corporate tax talks and the budget.

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The exodus of small investors from the Irish rental sector has reduced the number of available tenancies by nearly 22,000, Sherry FitzGerald has estimated. The company said traditional buy-to-let investors were exiting the market at a rate of almost two to one and that this had aggravated a supply shortfall, which was pushing up rents. The details are contained in a new report by the estate agent which Eoin Burke-Kennedy has examined.

A court ruling allowing a 68-year-old manstay in his home on reduced mortgage payments for 30 years has been hailed as a solution for others struggling with Celtic Tiger-era debts. In an order finalised on Tuesday, the Circuit Court overruled the objection of Ulster Bank by allowing a Waterford man remain in his home and pay a mortgage of just €93 a month for life in a personal insolvency arrangement – a financial rescue for borrowers – that could help thousands of others, writes Simon Carswell.

The liquidator of Custom House Capital has welcomed a court ruling last week that would lead to the Investor Compensation Company (ICCL) unlocking over €12 million of compensation payments to former clients of the failed investment firm. The ICCL filed an application with the High Court in late 2019 following a disagreement with the liquidator, Kieran Wallace, over the extent to which it can be reimbursed for payouts to clients affected by the collapse of Custom House Capital a decade ago this month. Joe Brennan reports.

A planning application for the €650 million Silvermines hydroelectric power station in north Tipperary will be submitted in the first quarter of 2023, its developers have confirmed. Kevin O'Sullivan reports that if approved, the plant located in the Silvermines mountains would be one of the largest private infrastructure projects in the history of the State, and would generate 360 megawatts of electricity; enough to power 200,000 homes.

In Commercial Property, Fiona Reddan reports a substantial residential development site of about 12 hectares (29.4 acres), with the capacity to build almost 400 homes in a prime south Dublin area, has come to the market seeking what is understood to be in excess of €23 million.

Meanwhile, Tim O'Brien reports that the asking priceon a mixed-use investment on Dublin's Townsend Street has been cut to €2.75 million, from the previous guide of €3 million. According to selling agent TWM, the new price provides the purchaser with an initial net yield of 7.5 per cent off an income of €227,000 a year.

You can read all the rest of today's Commercial Property news, here.

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Nora-Ide McAuliffe

Nora-Ide McAuliffe

Nora-Ide McAuliffe is an Audience Editor with The Irish Times