Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

It is possible to gauge whether people do or do not want to pay the property tax. Just because 95% of the people pay property tax without deduction does not mean one can conclude that 95% are satisfied to pay their taxes. If the Government was to revert to the household tax and make it a voluntary payment rather than one forcibly deductible by Revenue if not paid, it would then be possible to gauge the number of people who were happy, or not, to pay it. I suggest that the reason the Government does not do this is because it knows that an awful lot less than 95% are satisfied to pay what is an odious tax on people's homes.