Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am well aware that the chief executive officers are able to accommodate businesses and Mr. Lemass referred to a schedule of payments over years. Meath County Council did that a number of years ago as a pilot project before the Minister even considered it. We did that and included a business incentive discount. Mr. Lemass said the spikes will reduce but half the country still has to be covered. If someone in Meath is hit with a fourfold increase as the recovery is starting to pick up, that could hit him or her for six. It does not matter how often that person goes into Jackie Maguire or Fiona Lawless in Meath County Council. If the spike is of such significance, it does not matter what schedule of payments is put in place. This goes back again to my central theme of underfunding.

We can argue here all morning, but Mr. Lemass referred to rate restraint. That happened because there was no option given the economy had tanked. I was a member of the county council since 1999 and in the ten years prior to that, the pressure because of the massive development that was happening meant that when the local authority looked at its income, there was a hole in the budget every year and the people who picked up the tab every year were the ratepayers. This relates to the central deficiency in the funding of local authorities. There are two issues at play - the underfunding and the impact of the work of the Valuation Office - with nobody taking responsibility for the bill that ratepayers are subject to.

It is extremely worrying that in a reply to a question on underfunding, Mr. Lemass referred to the review of LPT by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I hope nobody thinks that is what will be used to plug holes and generate additional income. Mr. Cody from the Revenue Commissioners has been before the committee. Mr. Lemass referred to the exceptional uptake but there is not much more scope in this regard. I hope the Department is not looking at nailing homeowners to give more that they do not have.