Sinn Féin has described the Local Property Tax (LPT) as "unfair".

The party hit out at the government for reviewing the LPT and said it is "not working".

Senator Kathryn Reilly called once again for the LPT to be abolished.

Senator Reilly said: "The Thornhill Report, carried out to look at the LPT, outlined how the longer revaluations are left, the harder it is to do them, as the bigger the jump will be in the amount paid. Some projections for example have predicted that by 2019 the average house price will have risen by €68,000 meaning that the average family could see a jump of around €150 in property tax.

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"Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris stated in response to my questioning around the LPT and the Thornhill Report that the implementation of the recommendations of the report would be a matter for the next government, however, he refused to state what Fine Gael proposed to do if in government after the next election nor what Fine Gael’s position is on the LPT coming into the general election.

"It is completely Sinn Fein's opinion that the LPT is a failed tax and no amount of spin can hide the fact that unless there is a change of government families across this State in mortgage arrears, in negative equity or even struggling to pay mortgages and rent face significantly higher property tax bills within the next few years."

(CD/MH)