Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At local level, each council decides on its local property tax rate in September even though its budget is not agreed until November. There is a complete disconnect in that regard. It seems to me, as someone who was a local authority member until a few months ago, that it is almost the case that the real budget decision is made in September when the council decides whether to set the local property tax at 15%. Is that process going to be harmonised? It can be difficult to get the budget through on budget day when the real decision has been made in September. The Minister suggested that some local authorities have a surplus because of their intake from the local property tax. Wicklow County Council did not reduce the local property tax rate last year. Its surplus over and above the local fund had to be spent on housing. I had no problem spending it on housing, but there was no democracy there because we did not have the flexibility to spend the council's extra money on any other local authority services.

I assure the Minister that I did not take a cheap shot at him with regard to Irish Water. As a rural dweller and a commercial user, I have paid for water all my life. We need to get to the end game with regard to the funding of Irish Water. There are discrepancies in commercial water rates throughout the country. Various rates are being charged to commercial businesses. Wicklow has the most expensive rate in the country even though it is providing Dublin with all of its water free of charge. When will we get to the end game? The other huge revenue stream for Irish Water is the provision of services for housing. There is a huge revenue stream there. When, if ever, will Irish Water become self-sufficient? The only argument I was making is that rural roads are beginning to suffer because of a lack of investment. I was not taking a cheap shot when I made the point that just 30% of the motor tax intake is being spent on roads.