A RECENT Dail reply by the Minister for Finance shows the criteria for tax incentives for multistorey car parks are not in line with the policy of curtailing commuter parking in the city centre.
For example, Mr Quinn admitted there is "no requirement that spaces be made available for the public generally as a condition to granting [tax] relief for multistorey car parks built in urban renewal designated areas, outside the Custom House Docks.
In the case of Temple Bar's car park on Fleet Street, the requirement is that it should be "wholly or mainly" available to the public. The Revenue Commissioners accept that the term "mainly" is satisfied if no more than 49 per cent of the spaces are contracted to commuters.
At least 120 of the 391 spaces in this facility were "spoken for" even before it opened because they had been allocated by contract to Telecom staff who had previously occupied a surface car park where Temple Bar Square was developed, as well as to the ESB and Bank of Ireland.
Yet Section 41b of the 1994 Finance Act defines a multi storey car park as a building or structure which provides parking spaces on payment of an appropriate charge "for members of the public generally without preference for any particular class of person" (italics added).
In effect, however, both Dublin Corporation's survey and the Minister for Finance's Dail reply to Mr Eric Byrne TD (DL) clearly show that tax incentives available for multi storey car parks are being used to provide commuter parking in the city centre, contrary to public policy.
At the same time, there is no indication of any interest among developers in investing in the numerous "park and ride" facilities which the DTI recommended should be provided at DART stations, proposed Luas stops and major bus termini on the periphery of the inner city.
A simple amendment to the Finance Bill specifying that multistorey car parks in the city centre must be "wholly" available for public use would end the current anomaly and perhaps redirect developers towards providing much needed "park and ride" facilities in the suburbs.
The present scheme of tax incentives is subject to audit by the Inspector of Taxes and the law "permits the withdrawal of relief if the claim for capital allowances is not justified", Mr Quinn told the Dail. However, the Revenue Commissioners say they are "not aware of any breaches".