Mr. Tom Moylan:

I thank Senator Boyhan for his comments. On the issue of the local property tax and our views on a local tax, we represent 949 councillors of all political parties and none. I am sure Members of the Oireachtas could debate the merits of a local property tax all day, just as we could. The question to be addressed is how local authorities should be funded. Should they be fully funded from central funds or should local charges be used to generate funding? This question must be asked as part of a wider debate. As noted in the submission, 75% of funding for local authorities comes from local receipts from commercial rates, local property tax and income from goods and services generated locally. The remaining 25% of funding comes from central funds. As such, much of the funding for local authorities is generated locally from the general public.

Councillor Danny Owens will highlight the services people receive for the money they pay, which is extremely important. Councillor Brian Lawlor is from South Dublin County Council, which last year introduced a small pilot scheme on a participatory budget. It established a local fund of €300,000 for one of its local electoral areas and asked members of the public in the area how they would like this sum to be spent. This was done to show the public what their local property tax is doing for them. It is a good pilot scheme and I understand the sum involved has been increased to €600,000 this year. This type of initiative could be rolled out elsewhere to demonstrate to the public the services they receive from their local authorities.