John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

That was the good thing but now I will start to criticise him. The Sinn Féin position on the property tax is completely dishonest and we need not talk about it. The Fianna Fáil position is worse than dishonest; it is ludicrous. Fianna Fáil was the proponent two years ago of the exact same policy to which it is now completely opposed. It has made the argument that the property tax should be linked to income.

If it was linked to income it would be called an income tax not a property tax. If it was linked to stamp duty should it not be called a transaction tax? The argument that people in rural Ireland pay substantial development charges represents a misunderstanding of a development charge. It is a contribution towards the capital cost of infrastructure. A property tax is a contribution towards maintenance and ongoing services. They are basic arguments and for anyone to use them in any other way would be dishonest and might demonstrate a lack of understanding of the tax system.

It is a good thing for our democracy that the Opposition would robustly criticise and oppose any measure obnoxious to them and obviously the introduction of a property tax fits into that category. I fear, however, that the Opposition is going further than opposing the introduction of legislation and moving into a position that is insidious and I daresay subversive. Some parties have a history of subversion but I am surprised to find Fianna Fáil moving into that area. It is one thing to oppose the legislative process. That is fine. It is the job of the Opposition and it must do so robustly but to take it outside the Chamber and exhort people not to pay the property tax is moving to a position of denying the legitimacy of a democratically elected government to make decisions on taxation. I am not saying Fianna Fáil is doing this but other parties are. That is subversive. It is an inability to recognise the legitimacy of the State which we in the Parliament represent. That is insidious and horribly dangerous.

Those who are on the streets telling people not to pay this property tax, bin the tax or whatever, should realise that street politics is not appropriate for parliamentarians. We are dealing here with the very legitimacy of the State. The Government is elected to implement decisions in good times and bad. This is the key issue. Nobody wants to pay more tax, as Senator Quinn said. I do not want to pay more tax. It is a legitimate measure from a legitimately elected government. To move outside that is subversive, dangerous and wrong.