Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Where on earth does Mr. McDonnell think hard-pressed working people on modest incomes will find this extra money? I presume he is also in favour of a water tax, which will increase this amount to €1,000 or €1,300. From where is this sacred text about property tax and broadening the tax base coming? It is as if every household has a hidden pot of gold it can pull from under the floorboards and pay as property tax. In fact, it will come from the same place as income tax and VAT, which is the take-home pay of working people. I find extraordinary Mr. McDonnell's proposals for a deferral if people are on low incomes or unemployed. Take the generation on 35 or 40 year mortgages as a result of the extortion and racketeering which went on in the property market and of which they were victims when they needed to buy a home to start a family. For the past ten years they have paid extortionate rates. Perhaps they must move on to an interest only arrangement with the bank for the next ten years, after which they may barely be able to afford the payments again. At the end of all this, thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of a tax will have mounted up. I must put it to Mr. McDonnell that this is extraordinary.

I agree with much of what Dr. Healy's organisation, Social Justice Ireland, has said, but he is opting for a site tax which would also be on the family home. The home does not earn an income. It costs money to keep.