William Irwin (Appellant) and The Department of Finance (Respondent)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Mr Farrelly |
| Judgment Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | NIVT 7/22 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Court | Valuation Tribunal (NI) |
1
NORTHERN IRELAND VALUATION TRIBUNAL
THE RATES (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1977 (AS AMENDED) AND THE
VALUATION TRIBUNAL RULES (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2007 (AS AMENDED)
CASE REFERENCE NUMBER: NIVT 7/22
William Irwin – APPELLANT
AND
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE – RESPONDENT
Northern Ireland Valuation Tribunal
Chairman: Francis J. Farrelly
Members: Timothy Hopkins and Brian Reid
Date of hearing: 18th October 2022
DECISION
The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that this appeal is Dismissed.
REASONS
Introduction
1. This is a reference under Article 12B of the Rates (NI) Order 1977 (as
amended) (the 1977 Order).
The Law
2. The statutory provisions are to be found in the 1977 Order. Article 31A (12B)
of the 1977 Order was inserted by article 17(8) of the Rates (Amendment)
(NI) Order 2006 (the 2006 Order). Article 31A (12B) enables a person to
appeal to the tribunal against the result of a review by the Department (the
respondent in this appeal) of a decision that a person is not entitled to a rate
rebate for a property with a special facility for a person with a disability. This is
referred to as DPA.
The Tribunal’s Decision
1. Mr Irwin owns 1 Liffock Park, Castlerock. He had been living there on his own
and received the Lone Pensioners allowance on his rates bill.
2. His daughter, Ms Perry, lives in Yorkshire. She has been appointed by the
Office of Care and Protection as her father’s attorney for the purposes of the
Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 with general
authority to act on his behalf.
3. Mr Irwin became unwell and was admitted to the Causeway Hospital. As per
Ms Perry’s letter of 31 July 2022 he was transferred to a care home in
Ballymena in August 2020. His continued to deteriorate and he was admitted
the following day as an emergency into Antrim Area Hospital. When his
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