Fianna Fáil has slammed the Government as it emerged Dubliners face massive property tax increases in 2017 because of its legislation.

A report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that Dublin property values have increased by over 24% in the 12 months to the end of June.

Councillor Jim O'Callaghan said: "The Government cleverly fixed the amount of tax owed on each property up to 2016 while giving vague details on how Property Tax will be calculated after that. The law now provides that from 2017, after the next election, the tax will rise to match property price increases which occurred between 2013 and 2017.

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"Dublin is currently in the middle of a property-price bubble because of artificially low supply of houses. This bubble is likely to result in massive increases in the taxable valuation of residential property by the start of 2017. The increase could easily be 50% or more."

Councillor O'Callaghan added that the Fianna Fáil group on Dublin City Council has proposed an immediate measure of respite for hard-pressed Dubliners - a 15% reduction in the tax for 2015, which is the greatest reduction currently permitted by law.

(CD/JP)