Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I missed the presentation by the delegates but I read the written submission and the reports. I refer to Deputy McConalogue's question about a comparison of welfare rates in different jurisdictions. It is too simplistic to say that people here get a higher rate of social welfare payment than in another jurisdiction. One needs to take into account all the other elements that make up the total benefit. I refer, for example, to housing supports and housing grants. I have looked at the six steps to a more equal and inclusive Ireland and one step is to increase the overall tax take. It is not just a case of increasing the tax take but also how it is distributed subsequently. I ask the delegates for their views.

I note the EAPN has argued for the introduction of progressive property taxes. It is an appropriate subject for discussion because the property tax is currently in the Seanad, having been passed in the Dáil. I ask the EAPN to give us any information on how property taxes are redistributed in other jurisdictions compared to what is being proposed here. The proposal is that they will be given back to the local authorities who will decide how they are to be spent. Is that how it works in other jurisdictions? In some areas the taxes collected are ring-fenced for expenditure on education or health or put into a national pot rather than being given back to the local authorities to provide services at a local level. I ask for information on the practice in other European countries.