Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council votes to cut Local Property Tax for 2025

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council members have voted to maintain a 15% downwards adjustment to local property taxes within the county.

Council manager Frank Curran told this week’s meeting of the Council that “we’re going to be facing a very difficult budget in the autumn,” noting increased hiring by the council as well as persistent inflation.

For that reason, Curran implored the councillors to increase the rate.

“As the population grows, it takes more and more income to provide more recreational facilities and amenities,” he told the meeting.

Fine Gael councillor Eoin O’Driscoll said, “estimates provided by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council suggest that, with the 15% downwards adjustment taken into account, homeowners across the county will pay an average of c.5% extra in local property tax in 2026, contributing a further €10.85 million to the Council’s budget.”

“This vote was an important step in moderating local property tax increases for 2026 and avoiding punitive tax bills for local homeowners – who already face an undue and disproportionate tax burden,” O’Driscoll said.

The Stillorgan councillor said that the vote facilitates a balanced budget later this year, and a 9% increase in overall expenditure for the year ahead.

“This expenditure increase is far in excess of predicted inflation and reflects a trend of spiralling expenditure within Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Over the course of the last council term, 2019-2024, expenditure rose by a massive 49.56%,” O’Driscoll noted.

“We cannot do the same this term. As Councillors, we have a responsibility to oversee the prudent and effective use of public money. We need to get costs under control. We cannot have a situation for another Council term where expenditure rises consistently outpacing inflation by a wide margin.”

“Our focus needs to turn towards getting costs under control and away from squeezing more and more money from taxpayers – particularly homeowners and ratepayers,” he said.

Local Fianna Fáil TD Shay Brennan welcomed the government’s Local Property Tax reform, which he says will result in more money being distributed to local communities.

Under the government’s reform, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will benefit from an additional €11.8 million each year from 2026 onwards due to changes in how LPT funds are distributed.

“With this extra funding, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will be better equipped to improve roads, invest in local housing, enhance urban renewal programmes, and revitalise derelict areas,” the Fianna Fáil TD said.

Green councillors have challenged the cuts, with Green councillors expressing bemusement that People Before Profit and Fine Gael share the same opinion on the Local Property Tax. 

Green councillor and group leader on the council, Robert Jones, said, “Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, People Before Profit and independents have just blown a €10 million hole in our council budget.”

“We need to be honest with people. A 15% cut in the Local Property Tax saves the average homeowner one to two euro a week, but the cost is far greater: footpaths go unmaintained, playgrounds don’t get repaired, and community services suffer.” 

Green councillor Oisin O’Connor called the vote “bad financial management.”

“We’re not talking about exorbitant spending — we’re talking about bins, footpaths, and safe places for children to play. Our choice is simple: we can either invest in the kind of neighbourhoods we want to live in or hollow them out for the sake of a few euro,” the Glencullen-Sandyford councillor said.

Labour councillor Lettie McCarthy said “during Covid, the saviour for local people were our amenities and our parks,” and said that should be taken into account when it comes time to draw up the budget.

“If people didn’t have that on their doorstep, they would have found it very difficult to cope,” and said she disagreed with council management’s suggestion.”

“What I’d like to see the government parties do is reduce the cost of inflation,” she remarked.

Social Democrats councillor John Hurley said, “every year, we have the same argument.”

“It’s simply irresponsible to go with the same thing again and hope for the best; it puts the business community on notice that the rates could be going up,” noting concerns from the Sandyford Business District.

“Fine Gael, it seems, has chosen to ignore that.”

Indeed, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil having 21 of the 40 seats on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council (along with support from People Before Profit and select independents), the councillors voted to reduce the rate.