The revaluation of all commercial and industrial property in the State will cost at least five times more than envisaged, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said today.
In a report into the Valuation Office, John Purcell said it had significantly reduced appeals against its decisions but noted an 18-month backlog in its non-statutory work.
The office values commercial and industrial property for Government departments, public bodies, local authorities and ratepayers. The service is crucial in establishing commercial rates charged by local authorities.
In a generally positive assessment, it found that since the introduction of the Valuation Act (2001) the quality of valuation revisions had freed up more than half the office's resources previously used to process appeals.
"Overall, productivity in the provision of valuation services has improved by around 35 per cent over the period 2001 - 2006," the report said.
The last national revaluation of property was between 1852 and 1865, and a new one was ordered in 2000 by then minister of state for finance Martin Cullen to rectify anomalies in rental values compared to commercial rates applied.
Mr Purcell's report said: "The original ministerial expectation that the first countrywide revaluation would be completed within five years of commencement will not be realised.
Output per valuer is around 25 per cent of the levels envisaged by consultants who assisted the Valuation Office in framing the revaluation programme.
"Due to the extended time frame now envisaged and based on current productivity levels, the budget for the project could be up to five times that projected by the consultants, before taking account of inflation," Mr Purcell said.
Currently, South Dublin county council is the only local authority where the revaluation has been completed, pending the outcome of appeals, and Fingal council's is due for completion in 2009.
A plan for the rest of the State has yet to be determined, and a review of the process is due to begin next year.