Mr. Paddy McCartan:

I am reminded by what Deputy Pat Casey said that I have been around for long enough to remember the abolition of domestic rates in 1977, which is part of the reason for some of the problems we face today. Going back to the genesis of the local property tax after the crash in 2008 and looking at its contribution to the total tax take, it only accounts for 1% of tax revenue. It is a minimalist tax. I have looked at property taxes in other jurisdictions. There is no doubt that, in effect, it only replaces the local government fund. It is very hard to explain to constituents - certainly those who expect local services to be improved, which has not been the case - that, of the amount taken in, what is left over is €4 million.

On the relative price stability required, I think Dr. Pat McCloughan will agree with me that if we do not do something about the tax base, people will be paying double what they were paying in 2013. In one way, it is fortunate that it was introduced in 2013 because, in effect, it was the lowest valuation this century. It is galling for councillors to see the equalisation fund going to what would be regarded as relatively wealthy counties, including Tipperary, Mayo and Donegal. That is a major issue for councillors and is a reason we have opted to reduce the tax by 15% every year. Essentially, we are asking what is the point and saying we might as well give our constituents the benefits of it.

Another point I want to make which I brought up with Ms Kathy Quinn concerns the loss of revenue to Dublin City Council in respect of new builds since 2013 which has been quite considerable. We worked out figures because it does not apply to any apartment built since 2013. On a cumulative basis, if this were to continue until 2019, the loss for Dublin City Council would be €15 million. We also worked out figures for the other three local authorities, which would also add up to approximately €15 million. Therefore, for the four Dublin local authorities, we are talking about a loss of €30 million as a result of not dealing with this issue. It is vital that it be dealt with. In my electoral area apartments are being built in Ballsbridge, including penthouses that cost €6.5 million. We have worked out that the figure would be between €16,000 and €18,000 a year if full local property tax was to be paid, but no local property tax will be paid on these very extravagant and expensive properties. That issue has to be addressed immediately.