Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Good. I was hoping the Deputy would listen to me for a while. I wonder if those in Europe look on Ireland as being a good citizen in that it is doing everything right according to what it is being told by the troika, but I would point, as was mentioned, to the high number of emigrants, the number of people unemployed and people who are struggling financially. This leads me on to my next question.

Property tax is something the troika wrote into the agreement. There are many examples of property taxes throughout the world and Dr. Donovan would know what the IMF would have implemented in property taxes from his time with it. Is there any model he believes to which Ireland should subscribe that would be equity based, and how would that deal with the fact that more than 100,000 people here are suffering mortgage stress? Is it fair that they should bear the burden of having to pay a property tax or should provision be made for an isolated group not to bear that burden, and how would that affect the overall economy?

Does the council engage with the troika. The troika is concerned with cuts and increases in taxes but for us to recover it is all about achieving growth. I do not have a sense that we are getting enough support internationally, which feeds into where we as a country are at, in order for us to have a sustainable economy in the long term. I ask the witnesses to deal with those five issues.