Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell-O'Connor has appealed to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to produce a "fair and sustainable" property tax model.

The Dún Laoghaire deputy said she was worried about the impact the significant increase in housing prices in south County Dublin will have when the current freeze on property tax ends.

“I am very concerned about our future property tax model and strongly urge the Minister to consider the severe financial impact it would have on constituents in Dún Laoghaire,” she said.

“We talk about the leafy suburbs, but many of the families here are struggling to pay their bills.”

She noted her local county council had voted to reduce the property tax by 15 per cent, which she described as a “ welcome but once-off” move. “A sustainable property tax model needs to be found,” she said.

“I have strongly urged the Minister to consider the negative financial impact any further increases in the Local Property Tax would have and to find an alternative fair and sustainable approach.”

Ms Mitchell-O’Connor said in the period since property value assessments were completed for Revenue in 2013, house prices in her constituency had risen by more than 42 per cent.

The current three-year freeze on property tax ends after 2016.

Last December, The Irish Times reported that the Government was working on a major policy move that would freeze the tax until 2018, and "decouple" future increases from rising house prices by linking the tax to the consumer price index (CPI).

Ms Mitchell-O’Connor said the tax was set at €675 for a property worth between €350,000 and €400,000 but such properties in her constituency could be worth more than €500,000 by late 2016.

“This would mean the yearly property tax would almost double to €1,035 in 2017,” she said.